Villarreal B fall against Levante despite Sergio Lozano’s superb goal
Villarreal B lost to Levante UD at the Ciutat de València (4-1). Miguel Álvarez’s side recovered from Soldado’s early goal and equalised in the second half through Sergio Lozano’s stunning strike, but Roger Brugué, Joni Montiel and Cantero again turned the scoreline in the home side’s favour. It is worth noting that, before kick-off, a respectful minute’s silence was observed in memory of Encarna Carceller, wife of Villarreal vice-president José Manuel Llaneza.
The game started in the worst possible way for Villarreal B. In the first minute of play, Soldado scored the opening goal for the home side, which ended up counting after a couple of minutes of uncertainty after a VAR review. The Mini Submarine struggled to get possession of the ball to try to get on the scoresheet, but little by little, they found that break to initiate the play after recovery with the likes of Rodri Alonso, Del Moral and Sergio Lozano playing a key role.
Now with the necessary composure, Miguel Álvarez’s men got to the box on a number of times through collective play, but Levante’s tight defence and imprecision in the final pass prevented clear chances for the Yellows until the end of the first half, when Collado’s fierce shot from the edge of the area was cleared off the line by Cárdenas.
After the break, Villarreal B came into the game and were in control of the ball for the opening minutes. This led to a goal from Sergio Lozano, who unleashed a missile from the edge of the area, impossible for Cárdenas to stop, flying into the top corner of the net. Later, Lozano himself had two further chances with his right boot, but to no avail.
However, just when the B team were at their best, Levante’s second goal arrived, scored by Brugué, who had entered the field a couple of minutes earlier. Joni Montiel and Cantero scored two more goals with Villarreal B already depleted by their great effort and the Mini Submarine were unable to get back on level terms.
Next up for Villarreal B in the league is a home match at the Mini Estadi on Saturday 17th September at 2pm CEST at CD Lugo.
Lineups:
Levante UD: Cárdenas; Son, Postigo, Rubén Vezo, Franquesa; De Frutos (m. 69, Cantero), Joni Montiel (m. 88, Hugo Redón), Iborra, Rober Ibáñez (m. 69, R. Brugué); Soldado (m. 69, Bouldini), Wesley Moraes (m. 76, P. Martínez).
Villarreal B: Iker Álvarez; M.A. Leal (m. 80, S. Carreira), Dela, Mbacke, Tasende; D. Collado (m. 55, Ontiveros), Del Moral, Rodrigo (m. 80, Pacheco), S. Lozano; Fer Niño (m. 80, Arana), Ojeda (m. 87, Haissem).
Goals: 1-0. Min. 1: Soldado. 1-1. Min. 52: S. Lozano. 2-1. Min. 71: R. Brugué. 3-1. Min. 86: Joni Montiel. 4-1. Min. 92: Cantero.
Referee: López Toca. Booked: De Frutos, Wesley Moraes, Cárdenas, Rubén Vezo, Brugué (Levante UD); S. Lozano, M.A. Leal, Del Moral (Villarreal B). Sent off: Levante UD head coach Mehdi Nafti.
Matchday informatoin: Match between Levante UD and Villarreal B, corresponding to Matchday 5 of the LaLiga SmartBank season, at the Ciutat de València. Attendance: 12,907.
