A goal by Yeremy Pino, which was initially annulled and validated by VAR, in the 55th minute, allowed Villarreal to draw this Sunday against Real Betis, who began by taking the lead with a goal by Borja Iglesias in the 38th minute, after a match at the that the locals dominated, but that lacked great occasions.
A forced header from Gerard Moreno that went wide when just two minutes were up opened a special duel for Villarreal, who turned one hundred years old on Friday, and which also meant a reunion with crossed stories with the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, the coach with more Villarreal games, and Quique Setién, who led Real Betis, of which he is a member.
The game between the two European aspirants was leisurely and not very risky, with Villarreal being the team that managed to live in a rival camp led by Dani Parejo, who distributed the game to the left wing of Pedraza, who arrived with danger , but without clear occasions.
Meanwhile, the only Verdiblancas opportunities, this Sunday dressed in blue, were two corner kicks in a row that the local defense cleared without problems, but, little by little, Betis began to prowl the Villarreal area with increases from Aitor Ruibal.
The game was still slow until a shot from Rodri from outside the area shook the game. The powerful shot went straight to Pepe Reina, who slipped the ball from his hands and Borja Iglesias hunted the ball in the small area to send it into the back of the net (m.38).
With the goal, the last few minutes were intense with two clearances that prevented great chances. Ramón Terrats cleared a cross into the area when Ayoze and Borja Iglesias came to finish off and Germán Pezzela, with a spur, avoided the equalizer in the added minute.
The second half began with a Villarreal devoted in search of an equalizer that had its first opportunity with a header from Yeremy Pino that was caught by Rui Silva and a left-footed shot from Gerard that touched a defender and came out close to the top corner.
In minute 55, Terrats crossed for Yeremy, who beat the Betic goalkeeper with a great finish to tie the game with a goal that was canceled out of hand and, after two minutes of review in the VAR room, went up on the scoreboard.
As in the first half, Villarreal dominated, but this time they managed to create clearer chances. Rui Silva caught a shot from Terrats (m.68) in two stages, whose intelligence and vision of the game was giving Villarreal a lot, and with Chukwueze’s imbalance, although they lacked success in the last meters to materialize the victory against Real Betis who saw how Reina prevailed in the air game to catch several centers without excessive danger.
Villarreal: Queen; Foyth, Albiol, Pau, Pedraza (Moreno, m.72); Terrats (Jackson, m.899, Parejo, Trigueros (Baena, m.58); Chukwueze, Gerard (Lo Celso, m.89) and Yeremy Pino (Morales, m.72)
Real Betis: Rui Silva; Ruibal (Sabaly, m.82), Pezzella, Victor Ruiz, Miranda; Guido Rodriguez (Paul, m.46), Guard; Channels (Louis Henry, m.58), Ayoze (John, m.71), Rodri; and Borja Churches (Willian, m.82)
Goals: 0-1, m.38: Borja Iglesias. 1-1, m.55: Jeremy
Referee: Ortiz Arias (Madrid Committee). He admonished Gerard, Baena and Pau by the locals and Guido and Luiz Henrique by the visitors
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twenty-fifth day of LaLiga 2022/23 played at the Estadio de la Cerámica in front of 19,174 spectators. The Calduch sisters, the two daughters of the founding president of Villarreal CF, José Calduch Almela, made the kick-off.
