Villarreal B’s first game at the Mini Estadi in LaLiga SmartBank saw them get a pointthat could have been three
Villarreal B returned to the second tier of Spanish football at home with a 2-2 draw against SD Eibar. The Yellows, who fought back from going a goal down after Quique’s early strike, thanks to goals from Sergio Lozano and Pablo Iniguez, conceded a late equaliser in the final minutes, after being reduced to ten men after Lozano’s sending off.
The game started with a scare. SD Eibar, in the second minute, had the first dangerous chance after an Imanol cross, but their striker sent the ball over the bar. Villarreal were trying to establish themselves in the game by taking control of possession and playing out from the back. However, in the 15th minute, after a good piece of combination play down the right flank, and a low cross from Javi Muñoz, Quique made it 0-1 to put Gaizka Garitano’s side ahead.
From then onward, Villarreal stepped forward and pressed higher up the pitch. Diego Collado’s effort went over Yoel’s goal, but in the 38th minute, Miguel Álvarez’s side found their reward. Lozano sent the ball into the back of the next with a stunning free-kick. Villarreal stepped up the intensity from that point, to get into the game.
That could be seen in the 45th minute, when, after a free-kick, Iñiguez put the Submarine ahead. Dani Tasende put in a great cross from out wide, the ball went past everyone in the box, and the defender arrived at the back post to put the Yellows ahead. VAR analysed the goal for a possible offside, but in the end, the goal was given. There was still more to come in the first half, with Villarreal pushing forward and having another goal ruled out for offside.
In the second half, the away side changed formation and played with three centre-backs, upping the pressure, but Villarreal did not give up the ball or stop playing out from the back. The introduction of Haissem Hassan from the bench gave the Yellows a new outlet in attack. His directness and agility helped him get a show off from the edge of the box that went just wide.
In the 74th minute, the referee controversially sent off Lozano for a second yellow card. After then, the Yellows sat back, and Eibar brought on a number of players to try and level the game. In the 89th minute, Blanco Leschuk did just that, makint it 2-2 from a corner.
Lineups:
Villarreal B: Jorgensen; M.A. Leal, Dela, P. Iñiguez, Tasende; Iosifov (Haissem, m. 61), A. Del Moral, Carlo (S. Carreira, m. 90), S. Lozano; D. Collado (J. Ontiveros, m. 82), Fer Niño (Arana, m. 61).
SD Eibar: Yoel; A. Tejero, F. Venancio (Y. Rahmani, m. 77), Arbilla, Imanol; Sergio A. (Juan Berrocal, m. 46), Matheus Pereira (Blanco Leschuk, m. 82), Corpas (Bautista, m. 46), Javi Muñoz, Quique (Aketxe, min. 57); Stoichkov.
Goals: 0-1. Min. 15: Quique. 1-1. Min. 38: S. Lozano. 2-1. Min. 45: P. Iñiguez. 2-2. Min. 89: Blanco Leschuk.
Referee: De La Fuente Ramos. Booked: Fer Niño, Jorgensen, Arana, Dela (Villarreal B); F. Venancio, Corpas, J. Berrocal, Rober Correa (SD Eibar). Sent off: S. Lozano (Villarreal B, min. 74) & Javi Muñoz (SD Eibar, min. 90).
Matchday information: Match between Villarreal B and SD Eibar, corresponding to Matchday 2 of the 22/23 LaLiga SmartBank season, at the Mini Estadi with 2,109 fans.
