Late drama at the Riazor saw Villarreal take the points on the road away to Deportivo La Coruna.
Two goals for Bruno Soriano, either side of a strike from Luis Alberto, secured his side the points as Villarreal look to consolidate fourth position on the ladder.
Cagey would be the best way to describe the first half action as both sides battled for the ball but had little impact in the final third. Villarreal restricted the home side to speculative shots from outside of the box with Fede Cartabia blazing over and Luis Alberto having his tame effort saved by Alphonse Areola.
Villarreal offered little in the way of goalmouth action as well but it was the visitors who would break the deadlock.
The sequence started from a foul on Cedric Bakambu, who was brought down by Arribas after a mazy run, with the resulting free kick scrambled away for a corner. Jonathon Dos Santos played a short ball to Mario who found space in the box to pick out his captain Bruno and the veteran side-footed home.
It took just two minutes of the second half for the home side to restore parity. Victor Ruiz gave the ball away in his own half and Lucas Perez pounced. Bursting down the right, the forward squared the ball into Luis Alberto who slotted home from six yards.
Perez should have doubled his side’s tally just moments later after pouncing on another defensive lapse but the free-scoring Spaniard could only put his shot wide.
Up the other end, Denis Suarez should have restored the one-goal buffer but his tame effort was well saved by German Lux.
The second half looked a lot like the first with a midfield battle and little penetration as the game looked to be heading for a draw.
Into added time and the ball had found its way to substitute Samuel Garcia who was bowled over by Fernando Navarro in the box as the referee called for a penalty.
Bruno stepped up and secured his side the three points, pushing the ball down the middle after his stuttering run-up had bamboozled Lux.
Formations
Victor Sanchez chose to stick with the same XI that drew away at Granada on Jornada 17. Club top scorer Lucas Perez started at the pinnacle of attack with Faycel Fajr, Luis Alberto and Fede Cartabia making the attacking triumvirate.
Deportivo La Coruna XI (4-2-3-1): Lux (GK); Navarro, Sidnei, Arribas, Juanfran; Bergantinos, Mosquera; Fajr, Alberto, Cartabia; Perez.
Marcelino surprised no one with his team selection on the road as he continued to prefer the defensive midfield partnership of Bruno and Tomas Pina. Antonio Rukavina started for the Yellow Submarine on the left side of defence in place on Jaume Costa.
Villarreal XI (4-4-2): Areola (GK); Rukavina, Ruiz, Mussachio, Mario; Suarez, Bruno, Pina, Dos Santos; Bakambu, Soldado.
Suarez given a free role from the left
Denis Suarez has hit the most consistent run of form of his young career and thus Marcelino has given the attacking mid-turned-winger a freer role.
In defence, Suarez acts like a natural left-midfielder but when switching into attack, the 21-year-old could pop up anywhere on the park.
The manager has handed the youngster a role akin to that of Eden Hazard of Chelsea last season, in that his necessity to stay as a winger should not hold back his ability to play as number 10 so long as he gets back and works to support his left-back.
The youngster performed seven take-ons against Depor but can add three tackles, one interception and one clearance to those stats.
An interesting note is that while his free reign means he naturally floats toward the middle, Jonathon Dos Santos on the other flank stays on his side.
In comparison to Suarez’s two crosses all game, Dos Santos delivered five, meaning the outlet on the wing comes from the opposite side.
Deportivo’s long-ball style only helped Villarreal
Whether it was set out to bypass the away team’s midfield or attempt to quickly get Lucas Perez in behind, Deportivo’s long balls very rarely helped the home side.
Successfully completing only 56% of their 88 long balls served to hinder the home side’s progress.
When playing the short pass, Depor had much more success at 83% which begs the question: Why did they turn to the long ball so often?
Perez was causing problems with the ball at his feet, while Fajr and Cartabia often set up shop on the edge of the Villarreal box in probing positions.
Bruno: A master of his trade
It comes as a surprise that through nine years of quality work at Villarreal, Bruno has not been snapped up by a club of higher pedigree. Maybe there have been offers and the tireless captain has turned them down in favour of his home but he continues to put in defensive midfield master classes game in, game out.
Against Depor he will grab the headlines for his two goals but his defensive work is what got his team over the line.
Two blocks, three attempted tackles, one clearance and two interceptions. Add to that a 94% pass success rate and Bruno, at 31 years old, continues to be at the top of his game.
Going forward, he was not bad either with his two goals the highlight. The captain had three shots in total and one take-on as well as taking two set pieces ,of which every viewer knows he is dangerous.
Conclusion
Deportivo will feel aggrieved that a last-minute penalty denied them what would have been a deserved draw but will know that they did not take their chances.
Villarreal will be the much happier of the two having snatched a victory from the jaws of a draw which has seen them open up a five-point buffer to fifth placed Celta Vigo.
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 onFacebook.
