Villarreal travelled to the Mestalla to face Valencia in this season’s second Derbi De La Comunitat and came away with a 2-0 victory.
Goals to Samu Garcia and Adrian Lopez were enough for the Yellow Submarine who, with the victory, have now qualified for next season’s Champions League.
The home side started the match strongly with Aderlan Santos and Dani Parejo both having opportunities at the Villarreal goal but neither could break the deadlock.
That was left to a returning Garcia up the other end after a jinking run by Roberto Soldado opened up space for the Spaniard. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Garcia took one touch before punishing the ball past Diego Alves in the Valencia goal.
Shortly after the half hour mark, Villarreal had doubled their lead. Valencia’s high defensive line was caught out as a simple through ball had Adrian in miles of space and all he had to do was rush forward and slot past the onrushing Alves.
Adrian had the chance to double his tally in the second half after his cross took a touch off Guilherme Siqueira and onto the post but it was cleared off the line before it could cross into the goal.
The second half did not prove as exciting as the first but the victory has left Villarreal six points ahead of Athletic Bilbao in fifth and due to their superior head-to-head record, cannot be caught.
Mission accomplished
Villarreal set out to qualify for the 2016-17 edition of the UEFA Champions League and with victory at the Mestalla have now confirmed their participation.
Every game leading up to this one was in preparation and Marcelino’s men can now rest assured that their position is safe.
Although their three most outstanding players over the course of the campaign, Denis Suarez, Cedric Bakambu and Bruno Soriano, started the game on the bench, the Yellow Submarine were still able to defeat their neighbours and the game plans can now be put in motion for a tilt against Europe’s best.
It is a credit to the team as a whole that Marcelino could start the game with an injury-plagued Garcia, as well as Rhodri Hernandez, playing only his second senior match, and still come away with the win.
In arguably the season’s most important match, Villarreal stepped up and did their business to seal a spot in Europe’s premier cup competition.
All eyes now on the Europa League
Had Villarreal not won at Valencia, and Athletic not beaten Celta Vigo earlier in the day, they would have had one eye on next weekend’s fixture against Deportivo to secure Champions League football. Now that that has been sorted, the team can put all their efforts into winning the Europa League.
The Yellow Submarine travel to the home of the Beatles midweek as they look to better Liverpool and book a spot in the Europa League final. With league business sorted, Villarreal can put all their focus into the match at Anfield without any distractions.
Carrying a 1-0 advantage into that match will be a massive plus for Marcelino’s team as it looks to book its first major European final against either Shaktar Donetsk or Sevilla.
Should they advance, the final will occur following the final league game of the season where we will likely see Marcelino field his absolute second string XI so his big guns will be fresh for the showpiece final in Amsterdam.
Extending the gap as the dominant team In Valencia
With Victory at the Mestalla, Villarreal sit four positions and 20 points above Valencia and can claim to be the dominant team in the region.
Little brother once again bested big brother, as they did earlier in the campaign, and this will not sit well in the hearts of Los Che‘s supporters.
Look out for a big offseason for Valencia as they not only try to take themselves back to the pointy end of the table but above their brethren.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
