Tag: Villarreal

  • FC Barca game at Sevilla, Villarreal v Alaves postponed

    FC Barca game at Sevilla, Villarreal v Alaves postponed

    Spain’s High Council for Sports (CSD) has postponed FC Barcelona’s game at Sevilla and Villarreal v Alaves on Saturday following an appeal by the Spanish football league, LaLiga.

    The league had asked the Spanish FA (RFEF) to postpone the matches given the extended South American World Cup qualifying window put in place by FIFA to compensate for COVID-19 postponements in 2021.

    This meant that a number of players would not return to their clubs until Friday, 24 hours before they were due to play in LaLiga matches.

    As both Barca and Villarreal are in Champions League action on Tuesday, they were required to play their domestic fixtures on Saturday.

    However, the RFEF rejected LaLiga’s request, meaning the league was forced to appeal to the CSD to get the two games postponed, with the governmental agency accepting the arguments and ruling in its favour

  • Chelsea add UEFA Super Cup to Champions League trophy

    Chelsea add UEFA Super Cup to Champions League trophy

    Substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made two shootout saves as Champions League winners Chelsea beat Spain’s Villarreal 6-5 on penalties to add the UEFA Super Cup to their trophy collection on Wednesday.

    Extra time had ended 1-1 at Belfast’s Windsor Park ground, with Chelsea replacing goalkeeper Edouard Mendy with Kepa in the final seconds in what turned out to be a master-stroke as penalties loomed.

    The freshest player on a field of tired legs saved first from Aissa Mandi at 1-1 and then made the winning stop at 6-5 when Villarreal captain and 2010 World Cup winner Raul Albiol hit the ball to the bottom left.

    Mendy was one of the first to congratulate his team mate, with Chelsea lifting the trophy for a second time.

    Hakim Ziyech had put Chelsea ahead in the 27th minute, sweeping in from 12 yards after a perfectly measured cross from Kai Havertz on the left.

    The Morocco international, an unused substitute when Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the Champions League final in Porto on May 29, then went off injured four minutes before the break.

    He returned with his arm in a sling to watch the rest of the match from the bench.

    Villarreal, the Europa League holders with a noisy contingent of some 1,000 fans among the 13,000-strong crowd on a clear evening in Northern Ireland, hit the woodwork either side of halftime.

    Their equaliser came as no surprise, with Gerard Moreno – who scored against Manchester United before the Europa League final in Gdansk went to penalties – came to the rescue in the 73rd with a side-foot finish after a back-heel from Boulaye Dia.

    It was Moreno’s eighth goal in his last nine European appearances for Villarreal.

  • Villarreal gain narrow edge in chaotic win over Arsenal

    Villarreal gain narrow edge in chaotic win over Arsenal

    Villarreal claimed a narrow advantage in their 2020/2021 Europa League semi-final match-up with Arsenal after a 2-1 home victory in the first leg on Thursday.

    However, they may by now be rueing letting the London club off the hook.

    It looked like being a joyous night for Villarreal manager Unai Emery against the club which sacked him in 2019 as his side reached half-time with a 2-0 lead.

    It was all thanks to goals by Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol.

    And when Arsenal had Dani Ceballos sent off just before the hour mark it looked bleak for the visitors.

    Arsenal were rocking and needed goalkeeper Bernd Leno to avoid them slipping further behind but they were thrown a lifeline when Nicolas Pepe converted a 73rd minute penalty kick.

    A chaotic game took another twist as Villarreal were also reduced to 10 men when former Tottenham Hotspur player Etienne Capoue received a second yellow card.

    Villarreal, coached by a Europe League specialist in Unai Emery, maintained their 100 percent home record in the competition this season.

    But it was a bittersweet night for the La Liga side with the tie delicately balanced ahead of next week’s return.

    Emery won three successive Europa League titles with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016 and his Villarreal side have remained unbeaten in the competition this season.

    They enjoyed a dream start as defender Juan Foyth surged forward in the fifth minute and played in Samuel Chukwueze on the right.

    His ball in fell for Trigueros who lashed an unstoppable low drive into the bottom corner.

    Veteran Albiol made it 2-0 on the half hour mark when a corner-kick was flicked on and he arrived unmarked at the far post to volley high past Leno from close range.

    Arsenal thought they had a route back into the game shortly afterwards when Foyth tripped Pepe in the area.

    A penalty kick was initially awarded but a VAR check showed that Pepe had handled the ball earlier in the build-up.

    Mikel Arteta’s side pressed early in the second half but their momentum was halted when Ceballos caught Daniel Parejo on the foot and was shown a second yellow card.

    Emery’s side went for the jugular and Arsenal were indebted to Leno for a great save which prevented Gerard Moreno making it 3-0.

    The complexion of the tie changed, however, when Bukayo Saka drew a foul in the penalty box and Pepe drilled his kick straight down the middle to halve the deficit.

    Capoue’s evening came to an undignified end as he injured himself with a wild tackle on Saka and was shown a second yellow card while being taken off on a stretcher.

    There was still time for substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to miss a chance to make it 2-2 but after what looked like a dreadful position, Arsenal’s season remains alive.

    “We didn’t want to come here and lose but after the way the game developed, you have to take the result,” Arteta said. “If you have to lose it is probably the best result we could have.

    “I am confident we have a chance to win.”

    Manchester United crushed AS Roma 6-2 in the first leg game of the other semi-final pairing.

  • Villarreal Hail Chukwueze After Netting First Goal Of Season

    Villarreal Hail Chukwueze After Netting First Goal Of Season

    Nigeria international, Samuel Chukwueze has been labelled an ‘unstoppable player’ by Villarreal with the LaLiga side appearing to be impressed with Chukwueze finally putting an end to his La Liga Santander goal drought as the Yellow Submarine overpowered Real Valladolid 2-0 in a game at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Monday night.

    The 21-year-old had gone on a twelve-month scoreless run, having last netted against Celta Vigo in November 2019, but he rediscovered his scoring form against Valladolid.

    His 21st minute strike following a low cross from Alfonso Pedraza helped the Yellow Submarine to secure their fourth victory of the 2020-21 Spanish top- light campaign.

    READ ALSO: ‘Firmino still ahead of pressing monster Jota’ – Carragher

    After an impressive day in the office, Chukwueze was replaced by on-loan Real Madrid player, Takefusa Kubo in the 64th minute after which Villarreal hailed the Nigerian.

    “WHAT A WEEK: @chukwuezes amuel8 scores his first goal for Villarreal this season and gets called to the @ng_supereagles again! He is unstoppable,” the club wrote on their official Villlarreal African Players Instagram account platform.

    Chukwueze’s recent performance also fetched him a place in the LaLiga Team of the Week alongside Barcelona superstar, Lionel Messi and Real Madrid forward, Kareem Benzema.

    The skillful and pacy Nigerian attacking ace has scored a total of nine goals and made eight assists in 71 LaLiga appearances since making his debut in the 2018/19 season.