"Red Bull gives you wings," read the famous slogan of the energy drink owned by the
Salzburg
.
And the truth is that
he gave them
to
Villarreal
.
Unai Emery's team came crestfallen to their reunion with the Europa League, recently eliminated in the Cup and with a five-match streak without winning in the League, and left Austrian lands with high morale and qualification for the round of 16 on track (0-2) thanks to goals from Paco Alcácer and Fer Niño.
If anyone needed a good drink of energy drink at Villarreal, it was
Alcácer
.
The forward had not managed to regain his best version since his return after two months of injury.
He also missed a golden opportunity to return in a big way with that penalty against Granada that he wasted to have given victory to his team minutes after his reappearance.
Despite this, the Torrent player did not hesitate to catch the ball when the referee pointed the eleven meters, after
Kristensen
took Parejo ahead after measuring his entry wrong.
But there was Stankovic to delve into the wound, stopping the forward's innocent shot.
The redemption would come shortly before the break, in that luck in which Alcácer handles himself so well, the most opportune to appear where the ball rejected by Berisha had fallen, in conflict with Gerard, and push his head into the net.
The goal was a liberation for the forward, who had not celebrated since November 8, and for Villarreal himself, who had seen how Salzburg came to the top taking advantage of a couple of gifts from
Parejo
at the start of the ball.
Mwepu
snatched it from the Madrilenian but his attempt at Vaseline against an advanced Rulli went high.
Just a minute later, another loss by the midfielder left Daka alone against Rulli, who got to touch the ball for a penalty.
When Emery's team was suffering the most, Alcácer's goal came, a prize for a Villarreal who had gradually taken control of the situation as the Austrians loosen their pressure.
Salzburg found themselves just hours before the game with the news of the suspension of Malians
Sekou Koita
and
Mohamed Camara
, two important pieces for a
Jesse Marsch
who could not have his two starting centrals either.
However, Red Bull had options to beat Rulli, although it was almost always through concessions from Villarreal.
Shortly after starting the second half, it was Pau who was confident taking out a ball that
Daka
snatched from
him to serve it on a tray to
Berisha
.
The bad hitting of the German made the job easier for Rulli.
Daka and Okafor also tried it with shots that did not find the target.
The Austrian team had taken a step forward in the second half, snatching the ball from Villarreal and prowling more and more often in the Castellón area, but as happened in the first half, when it pressed more it received a new blow from its rival.
It was in a good combination of the yellows directed by Trigueros, the most intoned when building the attack game.
The Talaverano opened for the incorporation of Gerard, whose center was finished off by
Fer Niño
with a great head turn to place Villarreal on the way to the round of 16.
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