Baptistão powers Villarreal to Plzeň success
Thursday, October 1, 2015
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Villarreal 1-0 Plzeň
Léo Baptistão's slaloming solo effort gave the Yellow Submarine their first Group E points, the visitors ending the game with ten men.
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- Lovely Léo Baptistão solo goal wins it for the Yellow Submarine
- Plzeň look solid but fail to get a single shot on target all game
- Villarreal run out of puff after all-action opening
- First points on Group E board for Spanish side
- Next games: Villarreal v Dinamo Minsk, Rapid Wien v Plzeň (22 October)
Léo Baptistão's rampaging individual effort lent some sparkle to a subdued UEFA Europa League Group E game and gave Villarreal three points against Plzeň.
Plzeň were pummelled from the off, but a string of half-chances never quite amounted to a breakthrough. Samuel Castillejo stroked wide from a good position, Léo Baptistão had a shot charged away by visiting goalkeeper Matúš Kozáčik, and Roberto Soldado fired over the bar and then flashed a header wide with the goal at his mercy.
With the home side's shock-and-awe assault petering out by the half-hour mark, Plzeň had a little more space, but Mariano Barbosa was never troubled between the Villarreal posts.
With both teams short on inspiration, Léo Baptistão took matters into his own hands on 54 minutes, sallying out of his own half to test the Plzeň defence single-handed. The Atlético Madrid loanee rode two challenges before beating Kozáčik at his near post with a powerful shot.
The goal did not inspire either side to raise their game, and while the dismissal of Václav Procházka for a second bookable offence on 80 minutes gave Villarreal a good opportunity to pile on more goals, the nearest they came was a Manu Trigueros attempt that skidded wide. Plzeň, meanwhile, did not have a single effort on target all match.
