Villarreal CF’s closing pre-season ended successfully against top rivals, historic Inter Milan. During his trip to Italy, more precisely to the Delfino Pescara stadium, Those of Emery were exhibited with practically their gala elevenahead of the league premiere next Saturday.
After scoring in the opening bars, in which the Nerazurri carried the initial weight of the match, the Castellón team opened the scoring. A nice volley was chained by Pedraza with his left leg, very tight on the long post, making it unnecessary to stretch goalkeeper Handanovic.
Inter was quick to react. His team potential and the fact of playing in front of many of his fans prompted him to liven up the competition. Thus, while the game was already over half an hour, Romelu Lukaku took advantage of an error by Rulli. After a false start from the Argentinian goalkeeper, unable to place his fists in a side cross, the Belgian striker did not miss the opportunity and chained with a header which would lead to the equality of blacks and blues.
However, Villarreal showed that they had not come for a walk and that this meeting was already very serious. Coquelin, just before the break, put the ‘groguets’ back in front. A recovery from Parejo, with an opening on the right side, was the trigger for Álex Baena to help the arrival from behind of the French midfielder, who connected first, on the same line of the surface and with his right leg, a precise and powerful shot, ultimately lethal.
The second part didn’t disappoint either and was lively. Pedraza, acting as a side, left victory on track, or so it seemed. A ride on the flank, feigning the cross of Yéremi Pino, ended in a shot that no opponent could disturb.
Despite everything, Inter were not going to throw in the towel anytime soon. In a very messy and somewhat controversial action, where a possible positional offside by Lukaku was discussed, Danilo D’Ambrosio hit Rulli again with his head.
The desperate attempts of the team led by Simone Inzaghi, sometimes exceeding the legality of the regulations, were in vain because Nicolas Jackson scored the fourth and final goal in the second instanceafter a one-on-one against the goalkeeper, which closed a great evening