January 09, (THEWILL) – In La Liga Sunday night football, Atletico Madrid battled to a 2-2 draw away at Villarreal in a contest highlighted by a spectacular Angel Correa goal.
Correa nicked the ball from Dani Parejo’s toes and scored from the centre circle. His perfectly executed contender for Goal of the Season flew past Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, after just 10 minutes.
A bad Gerard Moreno penalty in the 23rd minute which Jan Oblak saved was forced into Parejo’s path and Villarreal thought they had pulled one back. But, VAR determined that it struck his hand instead of his hip.
However, it did not take long for the Villarreal side to atone. Pau Torres was on hand to capitalise from close range after Oblak lost the ball just before the half hour mark.
When Gerard Moreno poked a ball through the heart of his defence and into the path of his namesake Albert, the Atletico goalkeeper could have done better, with the defender’s effort looping up and into the net after his attempted save.
Atletico battled their way back into the game, aided by the introduction of Joao Felix and Koke. Geoffrey Kondogbia saw his drive from the edge of the box level things in a matter of seconds.
The champions kept pushing for a winner after that, but their disorganised play failed to generate any notable chances. And, although a draw is never ideal for any club, Villarreal will be frustrated after being the superior team.
The draw keeps Atletico Madrid in fourth place, while Villarreal remain in ninth place, continuing Emery’s quest for a first win against Simeone. Villarreal return to La Liga action next Sunday against Elche, while Atletico Madrid visit Athletic Bilbao in the Super Cup on Thursday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
