Villarreal – Juventus: Submarines & Old Lady Hold Out For A Thrilling Draw (2-2)

Villarreal drew 2-2 with Juventus at the Estadio de la Ceramica in their Champions League clash. A goal from Mikautadze gave the Submarines the lead but Juventus came back with two goals from Federico Gatti and Francisco Conceicao. However, Renato Veiga’s last minute header would get Villarreal the draw on the night as both sides shared the points.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

In many ways, the Submarine has been steadied by Marcelino, now in his second stint as Villarreal manager. The club have emerged from the shallow waters of mid-table finishes to now becoming serious contenders for the top four in LaLiga. The Ceramica boiled in simmering anticipation ahead of Villarreal’s Champions League encounter against Juventus as the sides lined up on the pitch on the night.

Villarreal finished last season in 5th in LaLiga but qualified for the Champions League nonetheless. The Submarines came into this game riding on a three-game winning streak in La Liga, seeing them forge their 3rd place spot in the LaLiga table as they faced Igor Tudor’s Juventus, who were mired by a frustrating run of draws, including a chaotic 4-4 against Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 1.

In more ways than one, this is also a transitional phase for Juventus. The club are in a rebuild after the heights of the glory years of their past. Last season saw Juve finish 4th in Serie A, securing Champions League qualification by just one point ahead of Roma. 

So this was then the clash of LaLiga and Serie A’s top four aspirants who narrowly qualified for the . . .