Villarreal won the roller coaster of La Cerámica. Marcelino’s side promised them plenty of joy with an unassailable 3-0 against a moribund Celta but ended up calling time as Rafa Benítez’s side rose from their ashes, ruing the first half and not enough with their great reaction after the break.
Villarreal got off to a brilliant start. With their pride wounded by the thrashing they received at the Bernabéu, Marcelino’s team came out to slaughter a bloodied Celta. In just 10 minutes, the Submarine had already given up three clear chances. Only Guaita battled the local offensive torrent with two saving stops.
The man in charge of breaking Rafael Benítez’s lock was Pedraza, who beat Guaita with a great shot from almost any angle (12′). Celta, bereft of Aspas, only shook off local dominance as they found themselves behind on the scoreboard. Pedraza’s departure minutes after 1-0 had leveled the playing field somewhat between the contenders but Parejo and Baena rolled up their sleeves to combine and find the cracks in the poor defensive mechanism of Celtic.
Villarreal were furious before the break and again found reward thanks to the opportunism of Mandi, who grabbed the rebound from Guaita to make it 2-0.
The second half could not have started worse for Celta, as Kevin made a penalty on Alberto Moreno that Parejo did not forgive (48′). With the game seemingly dead, Douvikas revived Celta with a goal from a set piece and a few minutes later Dotor spread panic at La Céramica with a score of 3-2.
The script of the game spun like a sock and Celta started to take the initiative and threaten with Larsen and Douvikas. The final minutes were back and forth and 15 minutes of stoppage time was added to the show.
Celta turned to attack with the forces they had left but ended up dying on the beach against a Villarreal who also had two faces.
[+] Watch the best moments of the match:
| Villarreal | Celtic |
|
3 |
2 |
| 13 F. Jörgensen |
|
25 V. Guaita |
|
| 26 A. Altimira |
sc |
twenty Kevin Vazquez 86′ |
|
| 3 Raúl Albiol 60′ |
|
(29 Miguel Rodríguez) |
|
| (5 Jorge Cuenca) |
|
2 Carl Starfelt 46′ |
|
| 23 Aissa Mandi |
|
(28 C. Dominguez) |
|
| 24 A. Pedraza 22′ |
|
4 First Núñez |
|
| (37 Carlos Romero) |
|
twenty-one Mihailo Ristic 46′ |
|
| 27 Ilias Akhomach 89′ |
|
(3 THOUGH. Mingueza) |
|
| (twenty Ramon Terrats) |
sc |
14 L. De La Torre 46′ |
|
| 4 Santi Comesaña |
|
(23 Manu Sanchez) |
|
| 10 Dani Parejo |
|
6 Carlos Doctor |
|
| 18 Alberto Moreno 60′ |
|
5 Renato Tapia |
|
| (fifteen Morales) |
|
Eleven Franco Cervi 82′ |
|
| 16 Alex Baena 88′ |
|
(17 J. Bamba) |
|
| (14 Manu Trigueros) |
sc |
12 Tasos Douvikas |
|
| Eleven A. Sørloth |
|
18 J. Larsen |
|
|
|
|
The objectives:(1-0) A. Pedraza (13′), (2-0) Aïssa Mandi (40′), (3-0) Dani Parejo (48′), (3-1) Tasos Douvikas (52′), ( 3-2) J. Larsen (57′)
Cards:l Kevin Vázquez (46′), Ó. Mingueza (72′), Álex Baena (75′), Santi Comesaña (76′), Manu Sánchez (82′), Tasos Douvikas (84′)l
Referee: César Soto Grado (C. Riojano)
Spectators: 14,000 at the Ceramic Stadium
| THE BEST The good first half reaction of Villarreal and Celta | |
| WORST The weakness of the defense of both teams |
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
