Villarreal lost 5-0 in their first leg Spanish Cup tie against Poli Ejido of Segunda B (Spain’s third division) last night. My first reaction was that I was hearing things or that my Spanish had failed me. Villarreal had not lost a competitive game since April, never mind a defeat of this nature to minnows.
When I realised it was true, I then thought it must’ve been a team of youths. Not so. It might not have been their current best eleven but it’s hard to explain how a team including Edmilson, Cygan, Rossi, Matí Fernandez and Cani could have lost in this manner.
It’s a bit embarrassing for me as well because I’ve been raving about Villarreal for months, especially since I saw one of the best exhibitions of pass and move football I’ve ever seen in the flesh towards the end of last season.
What now for my reputation as a tipster since I’ve stated that Villarreal are serious candidates for both La Liga and the Champions League? But congratulations to Poli Ejido from Almeria. Far too often when there is a giant killing act like this all the focus is on the poor performance of the beaten team.
technomist
Even the best teams can improve. As good as a particular style might look, if a team is not versatile and adaptable and does the same thing often enough and get stale about it, someone is going to come along with the answer.