Cádiz CF came away empty-handed from their visit to Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica in a match that saw them battle until the final whistle, ending up throwing everything at the opposition area in search of an equaliser.
The home side, who made from their play, scored twice before Cádiz closed the gap and then pushed on but with no reward.
Handball and penalty: the game was an uphill struggle from the start
The game had only just begun and Villarreal were already a goal to the good. A cross inadvertently hit Denmark’s Jonsson on the hand and the referee pointed to the spot. Moreno stepped up and in spectacular fashion fired a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner of Ledesma's net.
Triple chance to equalise
Cádiz looked to get back into the game playing their style of football and began making inroads into the opposition half, ending up with a triple chance to level things up. That chance ended up being ruled out for offside, although it was unclear at what point in the play the offence had occurred. Initial shots from Sobrino and Negredo were repelled spectacularly by Asenjo but the rebound fell to Jonsson who knocked it home. The scoreboard, however, did not change.
On the half hour mark, Villarreal could have extended their lead
Midfielder Trigueros had a great opportunity with a powerful shot around 30 minutes in, which Iza turned behind for a corner when it looked to everyone like it was a second goal for the hosts.
Cádiz could have levelled on the stroke of half-time…
When a Negredo effort at the far post went for a corner. Salvi's delivery from the right to the near post was touched on by Jonsson and reaching Negredo at the back post but the ball went out for another corner.
Villarreal came out with a lot of energy in the second half
The home side had two early chances to extend their lead. In the first, Bacca's goal was disallowed for offside, and shortly after that Ledesma palmed away a dangerous cross that then crashed against the crossbar.
Ledesma denies Bacca
The Colombian striker latched onto a ball from deep that put him one-on-one with Ledesma, but the Argentine keeper managed to get a toe to the ball and prevent deny Bacca the chance.
But Bacca was determined to score… and did so
Gerard Moreno got rid of his marker inside the box and delivered the killer pass for Bacca to drift in from behind and score, a move that Fali could do nothing about despite being well on top of the home player.
Álex halved the lead and got his team right back into the game
Fali's right-footed shot from the edge of the area was blocked by the home keeper at the far post where Álex then appeared, controlled the ball and fired off his left into the net. It was game on, and still another 20 minutes to go.
The final stages were end-to-end and added time had handball controversy
In the dying minutes of the game it was back and forth, as Cádiz just wouldn't give up and did all they could to rescue a point. The most controversial moment came when the ball bounced off Yeremi's hand but nothing was given.
The final action of the game was a right-footed shot from Pombo which flew over the crossbar after a run and cutback from Alejo.
