In case you didn’t know….
Villarreal and Barcelona contested in an eight-goal thriller at the Estadio de la Ceramica that ended 4-4. Goals from the Brazilian duo Philipe Coutinho and Malcom gave the Catalans a two-goal lead before Villareal staged a staggering comeback. First, 19-year-old Samuel Chukwueze halved the deficit before Karl Toko Ekambi, Vicente Iborra and Carlos Bacca completed a remarkable revival and put them in a strong position to pull off a famous win. But Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez had different plans as both netted in stoppage time to complete an astounding rescue job.
Villarreal fielded four players who came through the academy in this match and are famed for their impressive youth system in Spain. When the Spanish billionaire Fernando Roig bought the club in 1997, he had a simple philosophy: “Play good football, invest in youngsters and owe nothing to anyone.” And the club has stayed true to their owner’s philosophy by producing some brilliant footballers over the years. Santi Cazorla, Pepe Reina, and Giuseppe Rossi are three names that came through their doors.
Heart of the matter:
Fernando Roig talked about his disappointment at losing promising youngsters at the hands of the La Liga giants:
Talking about the enthralling game against the leaders, he said:
As the Spanish side find themselves in a relegation battle, Roig urged his team to keep fighting:
What’s next?
Villarreal CF will play Real Betis on Monday in the La Liga and they also have a quarterfinal tie with Valencia in the Europa League to look forward to.
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