Villarreal 3 - 3 Cadiz: Lozano treble not enough to sink resilient Yellow Submarine

A magnificent hat-trick from Anthony Lozano wasn’t enough to lift Cádiz to victory over Villarreal at Estadio de la Cerámica on Tuesday, as a 96th-minute strike from Arnaut Danjuma snapped El Submarino Amarillo’s two-game losing streak.

Both sides played this game with a clear approach, as Cádiz operated on the counter and Villarreal monopolised the possession. However, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 15th minute thanks to Lozano. The Honduras international took advantage of a delightful assist from Álex Fernández and buried a volleyed shot into the back of the net. The hosts didn’t rattle after conceding the opener, though, and they remained in control of the contest, while the visitors dropped deeper in an attempt to protect their lead.

Danjuma thought he had evened things up for Villarreal in the 34th minute with a perfect finish following a through ball from Paco Alcácer, but the goal was ruled out due to an offside, and Alcácer himself saw another goal ruled out just one minute later. 

That was a sign of things to come, though, and the 'Yellow Submarine’ tied the game with only a few minutes left before the break when Pau Torres scored with a close-range header following a corner kick. Cádiz had one more trick up their sleeve though, and Lozano restored the visitor’s lead in stoppage time with a superb finish.

Lozano capped off a brilliant individual performance, completing his hat-trick early in the second half, as the Honduran forward finished off a swift counter attack from the visitors to give them a two-goal lead. Despite the two-goal deficit, Villarreal didn’t push the tempo nor did they create too many chances outside of a brilliant effort from Samuel Chukwueze that rattled off the crossbar, although Boulaye Dia made the game interesting with a late strike in the second half. The Senegal international scored his first Villarreal goal following a superb cross from Serge Aurier.

Danjuma stunned Cádiz right at the death, in the 95th minute in fact, scoring from a tight angle to secure a hard fought point for the ‘Yellow Submarine’. Cadiz could have killed the game earlier on the counter, but they had to settle for a draw that keeps the side in the bottom three of the standings.