On The Spot Report: Villarreal Grind Out Gritless 2-2 Draw Against Granada

Villarreal failed to see out the match yet again as their 2021 winning streak was brought to a halt in 2-2 draw.

The Yellows were without star man Gerrard Moreno for this match who was out with injury. Ruben Pena stepped in to replace him as right forward in a 4 3 3 formation.

Pena certainly made his mark on the game early on with his lightning pace on the wing. He proved his worth in the 29th Minute. Granada temporarily down to 10 men, Pena received the ball on the right wing. With beautiful cut back to trick the defender he curled the ball into the left side of the net.

Former Yellow Soldado proved as lethal as ever in the 21st minute. Villarreal were caught out in a standard Granada counter attack. With a beautiful ball over the top. Soldado was onside in line with Raul Albiol. He quickly turned and sprinted towards the goal with Albiol in pursuit. With a clever finish Soldado powered it past Asenjo into the back of the net.

The second half began sluggish as the two sides battled dominate the match. Villarreal were clearly frustrated with the flexibility of the referee. The 60th minute in a goal scoring opportunity, Moi Gomez crossed the ball and it clearly caught the hand of the Granada of the defender.

Justice was soon served in the 64 minute. Pedraza was brought down in box in a clear penalty decision. VAR gave the call despite the incident happening 2 minutes later. Moi Gomez stepped up and slotted it home.

75 minutes in substitute Kennedy stepped up with a stunning goal. Just outside of the box Parejo and Trigueros launched in sloppy slide tackles which the Brazilian skipped around. Regaining his balance he sent a beautiful curling shot from outside the box into the top left hand corner.

The final controversy came in the 90th minute when Pino was brought down in box. VAR quickly came to Villarreal’s rescue and the Yellows were awarded a penalty. Alacacer returning from injury stepped up to take it. With a skip towards the spot he sent a weak penalty which was easily saved by Rui Silva.

The game was a lively encounter which ended in a disappointing draw for the yellows. Villarreal will be looking to return to winning ways against Huesca on Saturday.