Villarreal did not achieve its purpose in Tel Aviv, but almost. A victory would have given the mathematical pass for the next round of the Europa League, but the yellow team tied at Maccabi's home and remains at the gates of the round of 32.
Unai Emery's men dominated at will in the first half, but were completely overtaken in the second by a Maccabi who remains second in the group. Baena advanced to the ‘submarine’ at the edge of the halftime, but Pesic made the equalizer as soon as he returned from intermission.
Villarreal started the match very concentrated and quickly took control of it. Maccabi focused almost exclusively on defending themselves, a strategy that created many problems for the yellow team.
Emery asked his players for patience, who managed to overcome the pressure of their rival and were attentive to rejections when he lost the ball. Villarreal's formula had an effect, as at the end of the break he managed to get ahead on the scoreboard with a great goal from Baena.
Everything was going to be fair, however the game changed radically in the second half. Maccabi went all out, with much more intensity than the ‘groguet’ team, and with a blow from Perisic managed to return the equalizer.
The panorama had changed completely and Villarreal suffered to contain the Israeli team, compact in defense and sharp in attack.
Emery's men sweated not to concede another goal and managed to leave Tel Aviv with a point in their bag that brings them closer to their great goal: the next round.