Gerard Moreno resurrects Villarreal, that continues with its particular comeback and can arrive at Christmas very close to the European positions after a league start full of doubts. And incidentally delves into the crisis of a Royal Society, which has already accumulated five consecutive days without winning, with four consecutive defeats.
The forward of the ‘yellow submarine’ executed the Real with his doublet headlong and his attendance at Samu Chukweze down the stretch, and he was undoubtedly the man of the match. This Villarreal is another with Gerard Moreno. His return has changed the face of Emery’s team. Although we would not be fair if we do not put in the key equation in the match the expulsion of Mikel Oyarzabal.
If Gerard is important for Villarreal, the same can be said of Eibar for Real. Its direct red, as incomprehensible as it is unanswerable, he orphaned the txuri-urdin, and it was the first step to start losing a match that they had started by winning. Their bad streak in the league worsens and they will have to take advantage of Christmas to do an examination of conscience.
The match began intense, both teams spurred on by their need to score to keep their European options intact, the locals to reach Christmas in the noble positions and the visitors to continue their comeback from positions strange to them. La Real wanted to take over the ball, and Villarreal wanted to push up to avoid it. The key was to make the opponent feel uncomfortable, each with their weapons. And while, Gerard Moreno and Alexander Isak on the prowl. The goal had to be up to him.
Because although everyone wanted to invite themselves to the party, only they were the ones who hit the rival goal before the break. Boulaye Dia sent the ball sky high when she had everything going for her inside the area. Yeremi Pino lingered too long when she had stepped on the baseline. And Oyarzabal failed to put the toe of his boot to finish off a wonderful serve with Januzaj’s exterior.
Untitled Red direct to Oyarzabal.
ANDER GILLENEA (AFP)
Nobody hit the goal, until Isak decided to put one more gear in his game. And the ‘Swedish Txipiron’ forgives you one, maybe two, but never three. Rulli got his first two shots, especially clear the first one. But the third time was the charm, after a fantastic personal move and culminating in an impossible thread for the former Real goalkeeper. They were promised happy in the Anoeta stands, but if you bring Villarreal to life, you run the risk that a huge Gerard Moreno will appear to head off a corner kick in a rehearsed play that went perfectly. La Real tried to have the ball, Villarreal put muscle to their core and two different football ideas collided at half-time without any of them being able to impose themselves.
The one that prevailed was Villarreal, with the same protagonist as in the first half, Gerard Moreno. And with another unexpected one that was, if possible, more decisive. The game ran with manifest equality, both in the game and in the result, until Mikel Oyarzabal committed a recklessness to which we are not accustomed and was expelled.
His entrance from behind to Pino’s twin was very hard, totally avoidable and too clear to discuss. It hurts that he is a footballer as clean in sport as the Eibar, who is barely admonished in games. But there was no question. Direct red and the Royal Society forced to play with one player less the entire second half.
The royalist captain was aware of his inexplicable mistake, took an interest in his teammate and went head down to the locker room. So affected was he leaving the field of play that his own teammates went to hug him and the stands gave him a painful applause, aware of the fans that they were left without their spiritual leader.
That episode marked the development of the meeting and was key. La Real sank and fell back in front of their goalkeeper to defend the tie and try to take advantage of some against. And Villarreal took control of the game in a shameless way, because of the smell of blood. The realistic team was very touched, and above Gerard Moreno again scored to overcome the match Villarreal. In a play traced to that of the tie.
Clamorous error of the realistic defense, Zubeldia lost the mark of the yellow international and executed the Real at the first post. Villarreal was not able to kill the game and little by little it gave wings to a Real that only in the final stretch, with Sorloth on the field and risking everything, believed something in which he could achieve the feat of tying the game with a player less.
The Norwegian had it at the end, but his header was stopped by Gero Rulli, that saved his team. In the next play, of course, Gerard Moreno led a counter with the entire Real turned in attack and served Samu Chukweze to finish the job.