Villarreal 2-1 Athletic Bilbao: Yellow Submarines Sink Los Leones Despite Late Drama

Posted Sunday, February 14, 2010 by Goal.com

It was an even encounter at El Madrigal, but the hosts prevailed...

A late first half goal by Nilmar was enough to give Villarreal the win over Athletic Bilbao, thanks to a late missed penalty from Andoni Iraola.

Both sides started with their strongest possible lineups, with Nilmar leading the line for Villarreal, while Fernando Llorente did likewise for Athletic.

The Yellow Submarines have not had the best of times of late, but they got off to a great start in this match, with Joan Capdevila firing past Gorka Iraizoz after just five minutes, having played a one-two with David Fuster.

Fuster was in the thick of the action, and on twenty minutes, he slipped Nilmar through, only for the Brazilian to shoot wide. It looked to be a costly miss minutes later, when Igor Gabilondo strode forward and unleashed an unstoppable shot from distance that flew into the roof of the net, bringing Los Leones level.

On the half-hour, Robert Pires came close to regaining the lead, but he shot against the side netting when there were better options available inside the box. Minutes later, Llorente should have done the honours, but he missed from just three yards out, following a corner.

It looked as though both sides would go into the break on level terms, but on the stroke of half-time, Cani played a wonderful ball through for Nilmar, who made no mistake this time in slotting past Iraizos, sending the hosts into the break ahead.

Both sides looked lively in the early stages of the second half, with Villarreal coming close when Diego Godin headed a corner wide.Up the other end, Gonzalo nearly turned an Iraola cross into his own net, but he was lucky to see his deflection trickle just wide.

The chances continued to flow, and Nilmar saw his strike deflected just wide off Fernando Amorebieta. The Brazilian was in the thick of the action, and his lob over Iraizoz after being played through by Fuster once again went inches past the post.

Bilbao were still in the game though, and Oscar De Marcos would have been disappointed with his snapshot from just outside the box, which flew into the stands. As the match entered the final ten minutes, Nilmar saw another shot saved by Iraizoz, while Markel Susaeta fired Iraola's cross wide.

There was still time for Nilmar to be given another chance, but he shot straight at Iraizoz once more, after being set up by a brilliant backheel from Ariel Ibagaza. It looked asthough that would be the end of the action, but there was further drama with two minutes left, when Bilbao were correctly awarded a penalty as Iker Muniain was tripped by Javi Venta. However, Iraola's spot-kick was well saved by Diego Lopez, keeping the hosts ahead.

As the match entered stoppage time, Godin and Javi Martinez were both sent off for their part in a challenge which involved high contact on both sides, as well as some kicking afterwards. It sparked a brawl on the touchline, culminating in ugly scenes to end what had been a sensational match. As a result, the referee added an incredible seven minutes of time, which was enough for Pablo Orbaiz to get himself sent off as well, for a dangerous challenge on Marco Ruben.

Eventually, the whistle brought a match that had turned farcical in its final moments to a close, as Villarreal claimed a vital win.