It was honours even between Cádiz and Villarreal in Sunday’s LaLiga Santander clash at the Carranza. The hosts had the ball in the back of the net early on courtesy of Álvaro Negredo, but the strike was ruled out for offside after a VAR check. Villarreal dominated possession throughout, while Cádiz sought to hit the visitors on the counter.
Following an initial period in which the teams limited themselves to feeling each other out, the balance of the game appeared to tip Cádiz’s way when Negredo fired into the corner after six minutes. However, the effort was chalked off after Choco Lozano was adjudged to have been ahead of the play in the build-up. Thereafter, the match settled into a clear pattern, with the two sides sticking closely to their game plans.
While Villarreal put together long periods of possession, seeking out gaps in the home defence to get their danger men into threatening positions, Los Cadistas remained solid at the back as they sought to repel the away side’s attacks and launch quick breaks. Although both teams got themselves into forward areas, neither was able to open the other up and, after a first 45 of few chances, referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea blew for half time.
Villarreal carried a greater degree of threat in attack when the sides came back out after the break, but once more Unai Emery’s men came up against a resolute Cádiz backline again and again. With the clock ticking past the hour mark, clear-cut opportunities continued to be conspicuous by their absence at the Carranza.
As the match reached its closing stages, the introduction of Jairo and Filip Malbasic injected additional pace into the Cádiz attack, and Villarreal boss Emery also looked to freshen things up going forward. All the while, the encounter continued to stick to script, the Groguets enjoying the lion’s share of the ball and Cádiz awaiting chances to counter at speed. Both fought tooth and nail to the end, but could not break the deadlock before the final whistle sounded.
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