Villarreal reaches quarterfinals of Copa del Rey

Villarreal secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday by defeating Girona 0-1 with a goal from Yeremy Pino, in a match where Ecuadorian player Pervis Estupiñán also played from the start.

The Yellow Submarine returned to victory after two draws in LaLiga against Granada (2-2) and Huesca (0-0).

Coach Unai Emery fielded Álex Baena, Fer Niño, and Yeremy, all born in the 21st century, in the attack. The audacity, hunger, and desire to prove themselves of the three young forwards paved the way for Villarreal's triumph.

Aware that Girona's main priority is to fight for promotion to the first division, their coach Francisco Rodríguez reserved their two starting full-backs (Jordi Calavera and Enric Franquesa), along with many other key players. Villarreal found space behind their replacements, the young Yan Couto and Arnau Martínez, who are still underage.

The 0-1 goal came in the 19th minute, precisely from a play on the right side of Villarreal's attack. Manu Trigueros, assisted by Baena, hit a strong shot from outside the box that hit the left post. Yeremy, alert, caught the rebound in the small area and scored easily. It was his fifth goal of the season.

Not even two minutes had passed when, in a very similar play, Baena delivered a perfect cross into the box for Niño to put the tie almost out of Girona's reach, but the header from the Villarreal player hit the tall Kosovo goalkeeper.

Before the half-hour mark, Villarreal, in control of the ball, had another clear goal opportunity with Trigueros, but his shot from a cross by Rubén Peña went over the crossbar.

The pace of the game gradually decreased as the first half progressed, especially after Yeremy had to be substituted due to some discomfort. And although Girona tried to approach Gerónimo Rulli's goal, the Villarreal defense protected him well.

Girona was very imprecise and unable to find the way to Nahuel Bustos and Mamadou Sylla without Samu Sáiz and Monchu, who were substitutes. In the first half, Girona only managed to bother Villarreal with a dangerous shot-cross from Yoel Bárcenas on the right, which the Argentine goalkeeper deflected for a corner kick.

Girona took a step forward when they came out of the locker room, with the certainty of having nothing to lose, with high morale after defeating Espanyol three days earlier, and with the ambition to reach their historical peak in the Copa, the quarterfinals of the 2018-2019 season.

Girona came close to scoring with a beautiful bicycle kick from Sylla and with a goal disallowed from Bustos due to offside. They put Villarreal under pressure at times in the second half, but the clearest chance of the last 45 minutes came for the visiting team. In a play where Francis Coquelin was alone at the penalty spot and with Muric already beaten, he shot too wide.

Pervis Estupiñán, who played until the 83rd minute in Montilivi, achieved his third consecutive start in the Copa del Rey. However, in LaLiga, he has not been an undisputed starter since matchday 15, and the role on the left-back has been assumed by Alfonso Pedraza, who was rested in yesterday's game.

"Mission accomplished! Hard-fought victory to continue advancing in the Copa del Rey. Quarterfinals," posted the Ecuadorian international on his social media accounts. (D)

Mission accomplished! ------
Hard-fought victory to continue advancing in the #CopaDelRey. -- Quarterfinals. #Endavant @VillarrealCF pic.twitter.com/6ucAetYHIn

— Pervis Estupiñan (@PervisEstupinan) January 26, 2021