Las Palmas made the trip to El Madrigal and halted Villarreal’s undefeated streak at 14 with a 1-0 victory.
A first half goal from defender David Garcia was enough for the team from the Canary Islands to take home the three points as the home side put in an insipid performance.
Villarreal had only two shots on target over the 90 minutes as Las Palmas sat deep to absorb any pressure the home side could muster.
Roberto Soldado had the Yellow Submarine’s best chance of the first half after an elegant chip through ball from Adrian set the forward one-on-one with Javi Varas in the Las Palmas goal. With the goalkeeper baring down on him Soldado attempted the dink which went just wide of the far post.
Not five minutes later had the away side taken the lead. A short corner played to Jonathon Viera was crossed in and found the head of Garcia who fired home to put his side in front.
The second half was dominated, in possession, by the home side. They could not muster any real opportunities but could sense it would happen.
It took until the last 10 minutes for Villarreal to have their first shot on target off the boot of Manu Trigueros but it was easily saved by Varas.
Into the final few minutes and Villarreal were scrambling for a goal. Denis Suarez had the best chance with a shot from the edge of the box that was parried away by Varas who was having a great match, when called upon.
The final whistle blew with the home side still pushing but after 14 matches without defeat, Villarreal went away without a point, left to rue their inability to break down a stubborn bottom half of the table club.
Formations
Marcelino handed starts to Daniele Bonera and Tomas Pina as he looked to keep his side fresh. The Italian started next to Victor Ruiz in the heart of defence with Adrian Marin and Mario Gaspar either side. Adrian started up top with Roberto Soldado.
Villarreal XI (4-4-2): Areola (GK); Marin, Ruiz, Bonera, Mario; Suarez, Bruno, Pina, Castillejo; Adrian, Soldado.
Quique Setien made four changes in search of a third successive victory for his team. A more defensive approach from the outset with Momo and Angel Montoro acting in a double pivot and with width being kept to a minimum. Willian Jose led the line with Jonathon Viera just behing.
Las Palmas XI (4-2-3-1): Varas (GK); Garrido, Bigas, Lemos, Garcia; Momo, Montoro; El Zhar, Viera, Nili; Willian Jose.
Las Palmas frustrate Villarreal with their own game
The minnows from the Canary Islands entered this match with a game plan not too dissimilar to that which they played the first time these sides met this season. In that match, they held Villarreal scoreless as they did here.
The away side sat deep to absorb the pressure of Villarreal’s passing game and rarely pushed so far forward that they would be caught on the break by La Liga’s most effective counter-attacking side.
Not only did Setien’s side sit deep, they also stayed narrow. The away side forced Villarreal’s wingers inside, thus nullifying the threat posed by the Yellow Submarine’s most dangerous player; Denis Suarez.
On countless occasions when Suarez was on the ball, he would be surrounded by Las Palmas players forcing him toward the middle of the pitch. Extra special mention must go to Nili and Montoro who kept the Spanish youth international so silent throughout the match.
Marcelino misjudged his team selection
The way in which Las Palmas controlled Villarreal through their positioning should have come as no surprise to the Villarreal boss, as they have already done it once this season.
Marcelino should have reacted to what he has seen happened already to his team by selecting a more attacking outfit to start the match.
The inclusion of the defensive minded Tomas Pina over the more forward-thinking Trigueros was a mistake, as was leaving top scorer Cedric Bakambu on the bench for most of the match.
Pina offers so little going forward that having him in the team lineup meant just one less player to break down the opposition.
The pairing of Adrian and Soldado up front is of two players with similar styles and a pair which has never lit La Primera on fire. Without Bakambu, Villarreal lack pace up front, something that could have helped break down a stubborn Las Palmas.
Once Trigueros and Bakambu were on the park, and were able to link up with Denis Suarez and the attacking full-backs Villarreal looked more a threat and it was not until both of them were on the pitch that the home side would have a shot on target.
Mario – The only good take away
Right-back Mario is having his best season yet. The Spanish international full-back is one of the first names on the team sheet and is likely the only player in this team who will hold his head high following the match.
Mario was superb in both defence and attack and if the men around him could have given him more of a hand that would have gone a long way to Villarreal coming out victorious in this match.
Not helped defensively by the men in front of him, Castillejo in the first half and Baptistao in the second, meant that he was left alone to deal with the El Zhar threat which he did very well. The full-back attempted five tackles, won 75% of his aerial duels, had eight interceptions and only gave away one foul.
Down to the opposite end and he delivered two crosses, took five shots, of which three were blocked and two were just wide and created one chance.
If there is anything for Marcelino to take away from a game in which his side offered so little, it is Mario.
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