Josmer Altidore made his debut for an injury-depleted Villarreal as a halftime substitute as they recorded their first victory of the season against a clearly outmatched Deportivo on the back of a first-half Santi Cazoria goal.
Missing both Turkish striker Nihat and the Italian Guiseppe Rossi, Villarreal coach Pellegrini opted to begin the match pairing Joseba Llorente and Guillermo Franco, freshly back from an injury of his own, up front.
With neither team able to create any solid chances in the first quarter of the game, it looked destined to be a scrappy affair until Villarreal winger Cazoria injected his own moment of brilliance for the early winner. Cazoria collected a Ariel Ibagaza pass from 25 yards out with his back to the goal, before turning and firing it into the bottom left of the goal past Deportivo keeper Dani Aranzubia.
Deflated from the early setback Deportivo was overwhelmed for the remainder of the game, however Villarreal’s lack of ability to bury their chances kept the scoreline the same until the final whistle.
Both with a mind on the following week’s Champions League clash with Manchester United and to inject some fresh blood into the match after the spate of wasted chances, Pellegrini chose to give debutant Altidore his debut at halftime.
Altidore immediately looked to be a dangerous addition, providing Santi Cazorla with an opportunity to double the lead in the 55th minute, which fell straight into the hands of keeper Aranzubia. The American created his own chance in the 61st minute with a run to the upper right edge of the box and shot on goal, which missed just to the right of goal.
Deportivo was hardly able to muster any chances, managing only six total shots, two of them on goal. A few last-minute forward attempts from the visitors to snatch an equalizer were thwarted and the final whistle blew with the scoreline still in the favor of the home team.
Villarreal travel to England to face current European champions Manchester United on Tuesday in their first Champions League group stage game this season, then will host recently promoted CD Numancia in La Liga action on Sunday. |
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