A carom in the eleventh minute of added time was the best relief for Villarreal in Rennes, where they closed their lead in Group F thanks to a very close victory. The final intervention of the VAR, which invalidated a goal by Lorenz Assignon, was providential for Marcelino García Toral's team, which went directly to the round of 16 and avoided a previous tie against an opponent from the Champions League.. [Narrative and statistics (2-3)]
The Turkish referee's decision sowed desolation in Roazhon Park, where 26,000 spectators were already celebrating their team's success.. However, Atilla Karaoglan was inflexible after the VAR review, which showed how bizarre the action was.. It was a direct free kick from the edge of the area that Enzo Le Fée had hit against the crossbar and which ended up falling back into the hands of the young midfielder.. After this infraction, the rest of the play, including Assignon's shot into the net, was invalidated.
A culmination at the height of a night full of alternatives, animated shortly before half-time by an absurd penalty by Jeanuël Belocian on Alex Baena, which Gerard Moreno would convert with aplomb. Far from calming down, Villarreal allowed themselves to be surprised after the center kick, with a ball behind Adrià Altimira and a shot from the very fast Assignon that passed between Pepe Reina's legs.
Defensive mistakes
As soon as they returned from the break, Julien Stephan's team tried to repeat the scoreboard play that had meant 1-1, although Villarreal, more focused, began to take control of the situation. A play born in the boots of Gerard Moreno was crowned by Ilias Akhomach with a lucky left foot tripped by an opponent. Enough for 1-2. A few minutes later, Gerard Moreno and Matteo Gabbia had to decide, unable to push into the net, almost in the small area, a strategic action.
Marcelino refreshed his eleven with Francis Coquelin and José Luis Morales, but Rennes took advantage of a defensive mistake to equalize with a left-footed shot from Ludovic Blas from the front, which Reina could only follow with his gaze.. At least, the inattention was immediately rectified thanks to the skill of Baena, with a subtle touch, and the speed of Parejo, capable of taking a shot with hardly any space, impossible for veteran Steve Mandanda.
There were still 10 minutes left plus the added time, initially estimated at six minutes and later extended due to a misfortune by Coquelin, who had to be attended to on the grass. Villarreal should have protected themselves better with the ball and thwarted any threat of an epic, but an imprudence by Jorge Cuenca led to the direct free kick that Le Fée hit the crossbar. The rest, as it is written, was a wink of fortune for the Submarine.