Watch the Goals – Lecce vs. Napoli – Played on 04/07/2023
Real Madrid suffered a significant 2-3 loss against Villarreal in their away match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Saturday in the 28th round of La Liga competitions. The hosts scored an own goal by Pau Torres (16th minute) and a goal by Vinicius Junior (48th minute), while Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze scored two goals (39th and 80th minute), and Jose Luis Morales (71st minute) scored the winning goal.
With this defeat, Real Madrid’s points remain at 59, keeping them in second place in the La Liga table, while Villarreal rose to fifth place with 47 points.
Real’s Early Dominance
The match began with Real Madrid taking control and earning a corner kick that reached Antonio Rudiger, who headed the ball toward the goal, but it was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Pepe Reina in the 3rd minute. Vinicius Jr. attempted a curved ball from outside the penalty area, but it missed the left post of the goal in the 14th minute.
Real Madrid’s attacking performance:
Real Madrid managed to score the opening goal in the 16th minute, with Marco Asensio receiving a pass from Vinicius inside the penalty area and hitting the ball, which deflected off Villarreal defender Bao Torres before entering the net. The goal was counted as an own goal on Torres.
Villarreal’s Response
Nigerian Samuel Chukwueze attempted to score for Villarreal in the 23rd minute with a ground ball that passed the Meringue defense but missed the right post. Alejandro Baena also had a chance with a long-range shot, but goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved it in the 28th minute.
Villarreal continued their attempts, with a shot from Lo Celso that missed the left post of Courtois’ goal in the 34th minute. Nigerian Samuel Chukwueze managed to score the equalizer for Villarreal in the 39th minute, receiving a deep pass from his teammate Giovanni Lo Celso, dodging defender Nacho, and hitting the bottom right corner of the Real Madrid net.
Second Half and Villarreal’s Victory
The second half started with Vinicius Junior scoring the second goal for Real Madrid in the 48th minute. He received a pass from Dani Ceballos, dodged the Villarreal defense, and hit the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Algerian Issa Mandy responded for Villarreal with a header from inside the area in the 58th minute, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. Villarreal scored their second goal, which was initially disallowed for offside, after returning to video technology, and it was found that Militao had broken the offside trap. The goal was awarded to Villarreal.
Samuel Chukwueze added Villarreal’s third goal in the 80th minute with a missile shot from the edge of the penalty area, finding the far-right corner of Courtois’ goal. The match referee initially awarded a penalty to Real Madrid in the 82nd minute due to a handball by Issa Mandy, but he retracted the decision after reviewing the video technology.
Real Madrid attempted to equalize the result, but they were unable to do so, giving Villarreal a precious victory.
In conclusion, Real Madrid’s loss against Villarreal is a significant blow to their hopes of winning the La Liga title, while Villarreal’s victory has boosted their chances of finishing in the top four.
