00:21A night of excitement stands before us potentially here at the Estadio de la Ceramica, the home
00:27of Villarreal. I'm Derek Ray and adjacent to me in the commentary box is Stuart Robson and with
00:33kickoff just moments away we really should be in for a magnificent occasion. It's Villarreal and
00:39they take on Esfal Mekhen. Well this should be interesting today. I like the makeup of both teams.
00:45They really do have a good balance of attacking and defensive qualities but the team that has
00:49the greater desire will probably come out on top.
00:58Well we always enjoy highlighting players who could make a big difference and one such player
01:03as Nicolas Pepe. What do you anticipate seeing from him today? Well he's a good technician,
01:07a clever mover and a decent athlete but it's his power when shooting that makes him a top
01:12class player. He's so dangerous.
01:35And here's a look at the starting 11 for Villarreal. Well it's a 4-5-1 but with three of
01:41the
01:42midfield players giving close support to the centre forward and the other two sitting deeper.
01:46Also watch out for the fullbacks getting forward at every opportunity. They do like to get crosses
01:51into the box.
01:54This is how the visitors will set up today.
01:56Well in this 4-5-1, as you would expect, it's a very compact back four. A midfield five with
02:02a mixture of qualities and a front player who will threaten the space in behind the opposition. It looks a
02:08good team to me.
02:22And we're off. The first half begins with plenty of anticipation in the air.
02:39Three-kick awarded then by the referee.
02:42Two-kick awarded by the referee.
02:46Two-kick awarded.
03:07trying to really get at the opposition here
03:12loves to cut in from the wide areas
03:14and that is how to stop an attack
03:19plenty of supports here
03:23to put them in front
03:25well body in the way
03:28but can't avail himself of the chance
03:30well he'd be disappointed with that
03:32maybe it's just come a bit too early for him
03:41Schmidt
03:42and room for him on the flag
03:49well it looked highly promising
03:51but they got nothing out of it
03:59might be on to something
04:03that's a nice looking ball
04:05and never quite had the header on the target
04:29oh the threat is there
04:36almost saying to them
04:37take it off me if you can
04:44and a timely intervention
04:56looking for the right angle
04:59oh dear up a dead end
05:01it was promising
05:02well that's how to defend the edge of your box
05:07well they could break at pace
05:12and read it splendidly
05:16and he's broken free
05:18and a goal
05:20now they've broken through
05:221-0 here
05:36well as you can see
05:37the defending is all over the place
05:38that's far too easy for the attackers
05:40the goalkeeper's got absolutely no chance there
05:54now the ball is moving once more
05:56how important will that opening goal prove to be
06:11Papagey
06:13almost drilling their opponents even deeper
06:17this is an excellent run
06:20well that's how to keep the opposition at bay
06:25could be a chance to break
06:33a real opening now
06:36oh that is a super save
06:39well he had to finish that
06:40but credit to the goalkeeper
06:42that's a brilliant stop
06:56playing it in
06:57and dealing with the danger
07:02well that took confidence
07:04well I suppose you might call that
07:05defending as a unit
07:16intelligent ball
07:19besides the shoot
07:20oh top goalkeeping
07:30and he's fired over the corner
07:32can he put it away
07:36useful pass
07:37it could bamboozle them
07:38oh great block
07:40that's defending of the highest quality
07:43went in strongly
07:45decisively
07:52exploiting the wide area
07:58there's the shot
07:59terrific save
08:22let's see about the delivery
08:24and clearing his lines
08:29well there it is
08:30the referee's whistle
08:31and that closes the book
08:32on the first half
08:33here in Villarreal
08:37and away we go
08:38the first half of this game
09:08in the next half
09:09as we call that
09:09we go
09:09we go
09:10we go
09:10we go
09:57So back in business here, who wants it more in the second half?
10:12Oh, danger here.
10:26Well, gliding through, possibility of a counterattack, inexplicably fizzled out.
10:43An impressive run, but they took care of the situation defensively.
10:49Throw-in's given.
11:02Possession seeded by Villarreal.
11:07Oh, he's left as marker for dead.
11:10Couldn't quite take it all the way.
11:14Now breaking at pace.
11:16Potential danger.
11:22Could be dangerous.
11:27And the chance slips away.
11:33And away like a greyhound there.
11:40Couldn't quite go the distance.
11:51Sante Comesanya.
11:58Buchanan.
12:03Have to close them down.
12:05Targets available.
12:07Cross comes in.
12:10Wilting under the pressure.
12:12And now they try to go forward.
12:14On a different day, it might have gone in.
12:17Yeah, it's a little bit unlucky, really.
12:18Decent effort.
12:24And unable to keep possession.
12:38Nicely constructed.
12:45Possession lost there.
12:47Counter-attacking possibilities.
12:57And almost the ideal counterattack.
13:01But no reward in the end.
13:02Well, breathtaking football.
13:04But not the finish to match.
13:09Gay.
13:12Super tackle and they've won possession.
13:19Oh, they really might regret that.
13:22Well, what a big chance that was.
13:24That was the game right there.
13:31Ten minutes to go.
13:37This could finish it.
13:39And in all likelihood, that is game over.
13:42So little time left for a response.
13:53Well, here we can see it again.
13:54And he does so well to skip beyond the defender.
13:57It just buys him that bit of time to get his shot away.
14:00That's a really nice goal.
14:022-0 here.
14:03And the ball is moving again.
14:07Gerrard Moreno.
14:11Oh, good vision there.
14:13From a long way out.
14:15Oh, dear, oh, dear.
14:16The goal was at his mercy.
14:18Tame effort.
14:20Well, the final whistle approaching.
14:22And this has certainly been an away day to remember.
14:25Your assessment.
14:26Yeah, this has been a good performance.
14:28They've looked really sharp going forward.
14:29And they've shown a lot of energy.
14:31They'll certainly be pleased with their overall display up to now.
14:40Just one minute of stoppage time, say the officials.
14:45And there's the feed into the box.
14:48Well, he must get rid of the ball.
14:51And there it is, the final whistle.
14:53Not what the home fans were hoping for before a ball was kicked today.
14:57Defeat for them.
14:58Today just wasn't good.
