Villarreal has confirmed its recovery at the level of play and results after scoring with the Norwegian Alexander Sorloth, author of three goals, as the main protagonist against a Granada that is very fragile in defense and continues in free fall towards relegation.
The Castellón team barely needed the overflow of Traoré and the forcefulness of its center forward to disarm its rival, who after a good start finally disintegrated after conceding the third goal half an hour into the game.
Granada, forced by the need for points, had an ambitious staging, starring in the first arrivals of some danger to the area. The Medina team’s proposal collapsed on the first occasion that Traoré, making his debut as a starter this season, appeared in the game.
The winger, winner of all the duels, started the play for the first goal, scored by Sorloth after collecting a rebound from the crossbar from a shot by Gerard Moreno. Granada tried to regain the thread of the match, with a very active Pellistri, and had their chance in a shot by Lucas Boyé that came close to the post.
But when the match seemed more balanced, Traoré appeared again, who on this occasion drew a pass to Parejo so that the Madrid native assisted Sorloth, who beat Batalla again without marking. Granada tried to hold on to the game by controlling the ball, but another slalom from the Burkinabe winger, culminated with a shot that Batalla took from the corner, ended in the third goal.
The subsequent corner kick was finished at will, at the near post, by Capoue in an action that once again portrayed Granada’s defensive fragility. With half an hour of play and 3-0 on the scoreboard, Villarreal let themselves be carried away by a Granada team that without faith tried to close the gap before the break.
Villarreal returned from the locker room determined to prevent Granada from getting into the game. One minute into the game, Marcelino’s team was already close to scoring, which Guedes ended up scoring seconds later in his first contact with the ball. The Portuguese, replacing Gerard Moreno, took advantage of an assist from Álex Baena to beat Batalla with a cross shot.
Given the collapse of Granada, Villarreal only had to worry about extra-sporting issues, such as the departure of Bailly and his replacement, Mandi, both due to viral problems. The proximity of the next match against Marseille led Villarreal to take the game calmly against a dedicated rival.
Although at half throttle, Villarreal continued knocking on the goal’s doors. Soroth and Parejo, after a free kick, were about to add the fifth, which the Norwegian ended up finding again, this time with a header, after a corner kick. Villarreal, once again at the pace of the best Parejo of the season, wanted no more against a Granada that only had the strength to make up the score, through Corbeanu, in the last minute of stoppage time.
Check all the results of the EA Sports League.
Villarreal: Queen; Kiko Femenía, Mosquera, Bailly (Mandi, min. 46) (Lekovic, min. 61), Alberto Moreno; Traoré (Morales, min. 74), Parejo, Capoue, Alex Baena (Trigueros, min. 61), Gerard Moreno (Guedes, min. 46) and Sorloth.
Granada: Battle; Ricard, Ignasi Miquel, Piatkowski (Bruno Méndez, min. 62), Carlos Neva; Hongla (Corbeanu, min. 62), Gonzalo Villar (Melendo, min. 81), Sergio Ruiz, Pellistri (Jozwiak, min. 81), Uzuni and Lucas Boyé (Puertas, min. 81).
Goles: 1-0, min. 6: Sorlot. 2-0, min. 19: Sorloth. 3-0, min. 31: Capua. 4-0, min. 47: Guedes. 5-0, min. 66: Sorlot. 5-1, min. 92: Corbeanu.
Referee: Pulido Santana (Canarian Committee). He showed yellow cards to Piatkowski and Ricard for Granada, and to Capoue for Villarreal.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twenty-seventh day of LaLiga EA Sports played at the new La Cerámica stadium in front of 15,896 spectators.
