2023-10-09 23:47:41
Villarreal B was much more dangerous and intelligent than Espanyol and ended up winning the match by three goals to one. The parakeets were lacking in ideas and thick in the offensive phases. Luis Garcia He made adjustments to the starting eleven: he launched a defense of three center backs and two wingers that left Nico Melamed sitting on the bench. It was the most uncomfortable match for the parakeet team so far in the competition. He Villarreal B He monopolized possession of the ball during the first ten minutes and managed to generate clear chances from the initial plays (Pacheco prevented the goal from arriving even earlier than it did). A few minutes later, Javier Ontiveros He tried an amazing shot from the center of the field that was very close to entering the Perica goal, although, again, Pacheco arrived in time to avoid it.
With the opportunities, Villarreal B grew. The locals felt comfortable and daring, which brought out Espanyol’s weaknesses. In the thirteenth minute, the parakeets did not defend a corner with the necessary concentration and Lekovic He scored the first goal of the match. During the next few minutes, the groguets continued to pressure the parakeets, who had few chances throughout the first half. Espanyol was imprecise, they seemed to have no ideas. Likewise, in a bad start from defense, Ramon Ramos gave a compromised pass to Álvaro Aguado, who did not control well and gave the ball to Pascualwho made a great shot from outside the area (impossible for Pacheco) and made the score two to zero.
The Spanish suffered a lot during the first 45 minutes. The team was imprecise, showing notable nerves: they missed passes between defenders, they tried unnecessary dribbles in the center of the field… Furthermore, Villarreal B, through their most active players, lethal (Ontiveros, Pascual…), managed to mount very dangerous counterattacks.
Even though Espanyol was not having a good first half, Omar El Hilali He quickly went towards the rival goal (great individual play by the Catalan youth player) and crossed the ball, which ended up dead on the penalty spot so that Javi Puado will close distances. The parakeets grew after Puado’s goal and had a couple of clear chances to tie the game before the break, but in the end it didn’t happen.
The second part was somewhat more balanced. Villarreal B pressed (a mistake by Calero in the offside calculation was close to costing Espanyol another goal), but the parakeet team also had chances to tie the match. Luis García decided advance pressure of his team to favor the theft of compromised balls for Villarreal B.
It was clear that Espanyol was facing a more than serious team. The people of Castellón penalized each and every one of Espanyol’s errors. Bad controls, imprecise passes, divided balls… became beneficial actions for the locals. In this way came the third goal of the Groguets. A mismatch in a parakeet attack generated a ‘three for three’ situation that Pascual resolved for Pacheco’s squad. After that, Espanyol became extremely nervous. Just after the play for the third goal, Pacheco slipped a ball that almost entered the blue and white goal (a scare that adds to those already experienced by the parakeet goalkeeper in the previous games). It was becoming very difficult for Luis García’s team to create plays that would put Villarreal’s reserves in trouble, as they controlled the match and did not rush into any action.
Change of Luis García’s scheme
The parakeets did not generate the necessary danger to face Villarreal B. They found themselves against a very solvent rival. Despite the superiority of the Espanyol squad, the team did not know how to get out of the trouble caused by the groguets’ goals. He schema change Luis García’s move did not go as expected: putting three centre-backs (with Ramón Ramos as the left-footed winger) and sacrificing Melamed from the eleven only made Espanyol lack ideas. Furthermore, despite the increase in the number of defenders, they conceded three goals. The parakeets continue to have the same problem as last season: their defensive weakness does not compensate for their offensive effectiveness. Anyway, They are still in the direct promotion zonealthough their calendar is complicated: Valladolid, Leganés, Sporting de Gijón and Eibar…
MATCH SHEET
Espanyol: Pacheco, Omar El Hilali, Sergi Gómez (46′ Nico Melamed), Fernando Calero, Cabrera, Ramón Ramos (46′ Brian Oliván), Pol Lozano (64′ Edu Expósito), Álvaro Aguado (73′ José Gragera), Pere Milla (74′ Keita Baldé), Javi Puado, Martin Braithwaite.
Villarreal B: Íker, Espigares, Lekovic (90′ Hugo Pérez), Lanchi (80′ Dani Tasende), Carlos Romero, Alberto del Moral, Carlo Adriano, Ontiveros, Adrià Alti (58′ Requena), Forés (80′ Andrés Ferrari), Pascual (90′ Diego Collado).
Goals: 1-0 Lekovic (13′), 2-0 Pascual (26′), 2-1 Puado (40′), 3-1 Pascual (69′).
Referee: De La Fuente Ramos (Castilian-Leonese). He cautioned Edu Expósito (69′), Carlo Adriano (80′), Fernando Calero (90 + 1′), Brian Oliván (90 + 2′), Keita Baldé (90 + 3′).
#Villarreal #passes #Espanyol