Villarreal continues to go for bigger pieces in a season in which it competes in the Champions League and competes with the best at the top of the League. Marcelino’s team defeated a very brave Rayo Vallecano (4-0) in the Cerámica, but broke down in the second half, when Canary Islander Alberto Moleiro sealed the match with two great actions, his crowning achievement in an afternoon full of inspiration. The Castellón team lies in second position, waiting for what Barcelona does this Sunday.
4
Luiz Júnior, Alfonso Pedraza, Juan Foyth, Santiago Mouriño, Renato Veiga, Nicolas Pépé (Ilias Akhomach, min. 77), Santi Comesaña (Dani Parejo, min. 73), Alberto Moleiro (Tajon Buchanan, min. 62), Thomas Partey, Georges Mikautadze (Tani Oluwaseyi, min. 45) and Gerard Moreno (Ayoze Pérez, min. 63)
0
Augusto Batalla, Florian Lejeune, Andrei Ratiu, Pep Chavarría, Nobel Mendy, Isi Palazón (Fran Pérez, min. 65), Álvaro García (Sergio Camello, min. 65), Pathé Ciss, Jorge de Frutos (Óscar Valentín, min. 65), Pedro Díaz (Óscar Trejo, min. 78) and Alemão (Iván Balliu, min. 78)
Goals
1-0 min. 21: Gerard Moreno. 2-0 min. 55: Alberto Moleiro. 3-0 min. 57: Comesaña. 4-0 min. 64: Ayoze Pérez
Referee Iosu Galech Parish
yellow cards
Alberto Moleiro (min. 27), Andrei Ratiu (min. 75)
La Cerámica experienced a vibrant duel between two teams with a lot of audacity. Two formations with different but very efficient styles. Rayo imprisoned Santi Comesaña in the center of the field and made it very difficult for Villarreal to get the ball out. Of course, when he managed to overcome that high pressure, he found spaces to run, something he loves, and he reached the rival goal with ease. Gerard Moreno, moving between the lines, a link between the midfield and the forward line, had the keys to the area and halfway through the first half, he also broke the tie with a very talented play inside the area that he resolved with a cross shot, tight to the post, which Augusto Batalla did not reach. The Argentine goalkeeper was just over 50 minutes away from the record-breaking 345 minutes without conceding a goal, a record that Dimitrievski still holds.
Gerard Moreno rounded off an afternoon of glory. Before the game he received a framed shirt to celebrate his 300 games with the Submarino. The Catalan forward’s goal appeased a Rayo Vallecano that had grown. Íñigo Martínez’s team has very direct football that left them very close to 0-1 when Luiz Júnior had to throw himself onto the grass after a good header from Alemao after a play on the wing, the path that Rayo insisted on after 1-0 to continue creating problems for Villarreal.
The pattern remained the same. Rayo tried to box their opponent in the area, but ended up running into their center backs. He insisted on the counterattack with worthwhile plays by Moleiro on the left wing who then failed to find Mikautadze.
Santi Comesaña ended up appearing to take over the center of the field for another day. Pepe had the sentence at his feet, but the Ivorian sent the ball into the stands when he was, without a goalkeeper, an inch away from the goal. One of those mistakes that hurt, but that remained an anecdote due to the reaction of his teammates. The ruling was not serious because Alberto Moleiro went into a trance. The young 22-year-old Canarian player, a virtuoso, settled the match in two attacks that he resolved with a goal and an assist.
