Back to winning ways at El Madrigal

Villarreal CF got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Elche CF in the game corresponding to matchday 36 of the Liga BBVA. The win came thanks to Joel Campbell’s first goal in the competition, and mathematically seals their qualification for the Europa League, while Elche remain in the middle of the table.

The game began with Elche much more switched on. Mario Pašalić got his head to a rebound in the six yard box, but Juan Carlos managed to clear. Soon after, a long distance shot by Pedro Mosquera hit the post. After a frenetic start by Elche, Villarreal slowly began to react. Gerard Moreno was the first to get close to Przemysław Tytoń’s goal, but the goal would come courtesy of Joel Campbell. The Costa Rican player took advantage of a rebound to head into an open net in the 26’ and put the home side ahead. The last few minutes of the first half were very even and without good chances, so half-time arrived with the score at 1-0.

After half-time, Elche once again showed their spark of the first half. Fran Escribá’s men began to really push forward, looking for their key attacking figure, Jonathan de Jesús, however the home side’s good defensive organisation prevented good chances. Villarreal, tried to kill off the game on the counterattack and they had good chances to do it, for example, from Manu Trigueros y Giovani Dos Santos. Jonathan had two clear chances in the final stretch of the game, but the three points stayed at El Madrigal.