Guille scored another late-match winner to lift Villarreal up over lowly Levante in an Easter matchup that saw Villarreal climb to within 6 points of leaders Madrid. The win was a fitting tribute to Pelligrini, who governed his 200th match with the Yellow Submarine. I did not have the benefit of being able to watch the game, so my comments are limited to what I have read and what I have seen on highlights.
It is great to see Mati get back into the top form over the last few weeks. Yesterday, he glided through the middle of the pitch in the 28th minute and picked out the bottom corner from thirty yards for a well-placed goal to give visitors Villarreal a cushion for the match. Then, after a reply by Levante in the 64th, Guille came in true to form with a gamewinner in the 83rd - how many games has he won for us this year? Although he has only scored six Liga goals this season, his boots are made of match-winning material.
Villarreal are now, with tremendous support from their fans (3000 travelled to the Ciutat de Valencia), surging towards the top of the Liga classification, still two points behind Barcelona, but only six behind self-questioning Madrid. I have never cheered for Valencia before, but I was happy to see them take out the league leaders last night.
For highlights and links to match recaps, ...
Enjoy these highlights, especially if you speak French:
For English-language recaps of the match:
Villarreal now return home to take the Mattressmakers from Madrid, who impressively won in Seville over the weekend. The match will be a battle of teams in the Champions League positions, and could go a long way to assure Villarreal a spot in next year's CL. The only problem is Villarreal, after a weekend in which the team gained the best away record in La Liga, find themselves playing at home. Perhaps the fact that it is a top-tier will help Villarreal play to their true level.