“Barry, how I love you, Barry!” The young Villarreal CF striker transformed from hero to villain and back to hero in just a few minutes. Such is the nature of youth at 21, but also the mark of immense talent. The Frenchman was the protagonist of a match that seemed to escape the sub, but he managed to seal a 3-1 victory, which propels him to third position in La Liga, being the only team to maintain the pace leaders Barcelona and Real. Madrid.
The Frenchman provided the assist for Nicolas Pepe’s opening goal, was responsible for an own goal to make it 1-1 when he was offside, but redeemed himself with a powerful header which gave Villarreal the advantage 2-1 after validation of the VAR. . Álex Baena extended the lead in injury time, sealing a 3-1 victory and keeping hopes alive.
Matches of this nature are traditionally seen as potential pitfalls for coaches. On a Monday evening, with fewer supporters than usual (even if the participation was decent), the opponent was the last one in the table still looking for their first victory.
In fact, Marcelino had warned beforehand that there could be no hint of relaxation and that this would require a great ability to motivate his players. He was right. The Submarine struggled to settle into their style throughout the first half.
Among the rotations announced, the inclusion from the start of Denis Suárez was surprising, marking his first appearance as a starter in more than a year. The inclusions of Bailly, Parejo, Pape Gueye and Nicolas Pepe were expected.
With these five changes compared to their match against Espanyol, Villarreal started the match as if they had left their match in the locker room for the first ten minutes. The Portuguese Fabio Silva woke up the groguets by missing a clear opportunity without a goalkeeper in the small area after a brilliant play on the left by Moleiro.
But that wasn’t the end of the problems; Marcelino’s team only managed to find their rhythm after almost half an hour and could have conceded two more goals thanks to attempts from McBurnie and Fabio Silva, both saved by Diego Conde.
It was at that moment that Ilias and Pepe began to disturb the rival defense, creating opportunities. Cardona wasted an opportunity against an exposed Horkas, who saved another from Ilias. However, he could do nothing to stop the brilliant execution of Pepe, who scored the first goal in the dying moments of the first half after some excellent play from Barry.
The second half began in the same frustrating fashion as the first, with Las Palmas equalizing through Fabio Silva, who skilfully slipped past Bailly to score.
From one defensive mistake to another disaster. Five minutes later, Pepe was brought down in the box, prompting Parejo to take the penalty. He wanted to execute him himself, but Álex Baena intervened… and Horkas saved him.
It was relegation for Villarreal, which continued with 38 minutes remaining. From there until the final whistle, the match turned into a chaotic exchange of blows that Marcelino hates. Januzaj hit the crossbar, while Ilias, Bena and Barry missed clear chances. To add to the chaos, Barry himself prevented a Bailly goal in the 75th minute for offside. Yes, Barry showed he still has a lot to learn.
However, the young Frenchman (21 years old) redeemed himself with an impressive header that the VAR ultimately deemed valid. It was this goal that put Villarreal 2-1 ahead, sealing a victory confirmed by Baena’s final goal, making the score 3-1. A victory that Villarreal could not afford to let slip away, a victory that almost became a trap that propelled the Submarino into third position.
