Villarreal takes off in a gray match against Alavés | Soccer | Sports

Villarreal is in mourning, all in black, with its submarine yellow in the kit man’s trunks and Alavés in dull gray like its game; the stands in mourning, deactivated like never before, without spirit, without desire. Tears with the anthem of the Valencian Community, and the flag displayed in the midst of the overwhelming silence of the footballers and spectators. They didn’t have much desire for football, but they were there, almost out of obligation, so it was difficult for everyone to get the idea of ​​what was happening on the mat. In the end, the most effective Villarreal won, and for the first time did not concede, in an exercise of professionalism, of love for the job, with three goals in three shots on goal, the same as Alavés, who however failed to score, because Furthermore, he started unplugged and ended the same, when the scoreboard told him that he had little to do at La Cerámica.

The players walked like ghosts on the pitch during the first minutes, moving the ball from here to there, without much sense, although Villarreal received bad news when Kiko Femenía asked for a substitution in the 23rd minute, apparently due to a muscle problem. A little later, Alavés had their best chance in a header from Kike García, who goes for a stone as well as a ball, and which was first rejected by Diego Conde, full of reflexes, so that the ball later hit on the spar. The visiting team wanted to surprise the home team with these direct actions, but Marcelino reacted by blocking the exit routes. His team did not create much play, but at least it prevented Alavés from getting too close.

Furthermore, when the first half was entering its final stretch, a quick free-kick reached Pépé in the corner, almost next to the flag, which saw the arrival of Ilias Akhomach, who received it, turned around and finished from outside the area to the opposite club to open the scoring and score his first goal of the season, which if the bad omens come true, could be the last in a few months, because just five minutes later, in an action on the wing, he suffered a twist in his knee which appeared to be serious. He was taken off on a stretcher and Marcelino decided to wait until half-time so as not to exhaust another window of changes.

The local coach ended the first half dissatisfied, due to Ilias’ injury and his team’s play. Only the result could make him smile, but Villarreal improved its appearance at the beginning of the second set, because Alavés did not seem to have a plan beyond defending its field, and with the score against, it had little to protect. When he advanced a few meters in search of a tie, it created a more favorable scenario for the home team’s game plan, and if the incompetence in the last meters did not seem to portend a good outcome for the Vitorians, the emergence of the referee, Quintero González , a newcomer, certified that it was not going to be his day.

Surprisingly, he pointed out a penalty that only he had seen in a ball that Manu Sánchez played against Yeremi. The Villarreal player carried his body and arm on the defender’s back, who, unbalanced, saw the ball hit his arm. It was not a scoring chance, but a ball that went outside the area. From the VAR, Pizarro Gómez helped little, he did not advise the referee to go see her, and the absurd action ended in Villarreal’s second goal that Parejo scored. Comesaña, almost at the end, rounded out the score.