With the Group F points table shaping up nicely, Villarreal welcomed Young Boys in a vital home fixture on Thursday night.
The visitors surprised everyone by starting dominatingly as they forced Rulli to make a save within 3 minutes of the kickoff whistle. However, Villarreal soon settled their nerves and answered back by attempting the goal in the 7th minute. For the next few minutes, both sides played tentatively and struggled to create clear chances.The home side broke the deadlock through a set-a-piece as the midfielder Etienne Capoue slotted the rebound in the goal in the 36th minute.
In the 2nd half, Young Boys again started strongly to force Rulli to make another save. They came hard at the home side and gave no space to breathe. Much to their displeasure, their goal in the 57th minute was ruled offside.
The visiting side threw the caution in the wind to search for a goal and went in full-attacking mode. Villarreal took advantage of the formation and sealed the game in the 89th minute as Arnaut Danjuma slotted the bowl past Faivre low into the bottom corner with the aid of a slight deflection to seal the game 2-0.
Villarreal
Geronimo Rulli: The Villarreal keeper Made a couple of decent saves, maintained a cleansheet. 7
Mario Gaspar: Made 2 tackles and 1 clearance but earned himself a yellow card. 6.5
Raul Albiol: Made 3 clearances and blocked 2 shots, overall solid performance for the Villarreal defender. 7.5
Pau Torres: A good day at the office for Torres as he made 1 tackle, one interception, and 3 clearances in the game. 7
Alfonso Pedraza: Had an off day, earned himself a yellow card, got substituted in the 74th minute. 5.5
Yeremi Pino: Struggled with the ball, had a poor outing, substituted in the 58th minute. 5Etienne Capoue: Broke the deadlock for the home side, later assisted the winner as well. Man of the match performance. 9
Daniel Parejo: Made one tackle, 3 key passes, and 2 interceptions in the midfield. Ruined a good evening by getting a yellow card. 7
Francis Coquelin: He emerged as the biggest threat for Villarreal in the attack. Had a chance to score but failed to capitalize. 7.5
Boulaye Dia: Had a game to forget, was invisible on the pitch, substituted in the 58th minute. 5Arnaut Danjuma: He had a quiet game but ended well by scoring the winner for his side. 7.5
Substitutes
Pervis Estupinan: Replaced Alphonso Pedraza, did his job decently without a fuss. 6.5
Samuel Chukweze: He didn’t make any impact in the game. 6
Moi Gomez: He came too late. N/AManu Trigueros: Failed to contribute anything on the pitch. 5.5
Alberto Moreno: Added pace to the attack in the last minutes. 6
Young Boys
Guillaume Faivre: Made a couple of decent stops but could help his side to keep a cleansheet. 6.5
Silvan Hefti: Made 2 tackles and one block, got substituted in the 74th minute. 6
Nicholas Burgy: He had a decent night with 1 tackle, 2 interceptions, and 1 clearance against his name. 6.5Sandro Laupar: Failed to man-mark Capoue during the set-a-piece situations. His mistake led to the goal. 5.5
Ulisses Garcia: Registered 3 tackles against his name and put up a decent shift. 6Christian Fassnacht: Had negligible impact in the attack but made 3 tackles in the defense. 6.5
Michel Aebischer: Had a miserable outing and earned a yellow card as well. 4.5
Vincent Sierro: Crumbled under pressure, booked for a bad foul. 4
Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu: Played 1 key pass and dribbled past his opponents 4 times in the attack. 7
Meschak Elia: Had an off day in front of the goal, capped off with a yellow card. 5.5
Fabian Rieder: The most unimpressive player on the pitch for the visitors. 3.5
Substitutes
Quentin Maceiras: Had zero impact on the game after his introduction. 5
Felix Mambimbi: Failed to impress in the last 15 minutes. 5
Jordan Lefort: Brought the energy to the pitch, made two key passes in the attack. 6
Jordan Siebatcheu: Won 2 aerials and took 2 shots on the goal. 6
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