Villarreal defeat Getafe 2-0, remain eight points clear of Celta

Villarreal defeated Getafe 2-0 today in El Madrigal with goals in either half from Denis Suarez and Cedric Bakambu.  It was a largely pedestrian performance; Villarreal were at their most controlling and dangerous in the five minutes of play before Denis's fifteenth-minute goal.

After that, Getafe controlled play--and led in shots 11-4 at halftime--but most were shots from outside the area that went high and wide.  The second half was pretty much Villarreal (8-3 advantage in shots, and five or six corners), even to the extent that Getafe's most dangerous chance came from the boot of Bruno Soriano, who forced Sergio Asenjo into the best reflex save of the night.

The match was finally killed off from a corner, Mario getting the ball to a possibly-offside Bakambu who scored with his midriff, it seemed to me.

Overall a tepid performance, or maybe just an overly calculated one.  From the lineup changes (Bakambu, Soldado, Trigueros all rested), to the late booking for Bruno which ensures he is available for our next home match, Villarreal gave the impression of trying to figure out how to do just enough to win, and they did.  And got Jonathan dos Santos back for a few minutes of action, and he could have scored had Guaita not made a fine save to deny him in injury time. Excellent game for Tomas Pina, too.

Hard to take many positives away from this for Getafe.  Their defense blocked a number of good chances and worked hard, but after the first half Sarabia, their best player, pretty much faded away.  It could be their 12-year stay in the Primera is coming to an end.

Villarreal still lead Celta by 8 points with six matches remaining (Athletic, 9 if they win today at home to Rayo, as they certainly should; 12 over Sevilla now).