Juanfran brace sinks Villareal

PFDC – VILLARREAL, Two goal by Juanfran guided Osasuna to a deserved away victory over Villarreal as they moved up to ninth in the Primera Division.

The men from Pamplona have been on a good run in the league and although they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey last week, the Basque side displayed one of their best team performance of the season.

The hosts had only lost one home match prior to this encounter, but Osasuna showed no signs of intimidation and quickly broke the dealock after 14 minutes when Nacho Monreal sent in a perfect cross to an unmarked Juanfran who found the back of the net from close range.

Azpilicueta almost doubled the lead moments later, but his effort was brilliantly saved by Diego Lopez.

The goalkeeper again had the last word on the hour mark when Masoud Shojaei made a good run inside the box, but saw his effort denied.

Villarreal looked for a way back after the restart, but there were few clear-cut chances for them and
Osasuna hold on.

Juanfran beat Diego Lopez for the second time in the match five minutes from time after a neat pass from Camunas.

Despite announcing on Saturday that Nekounam will start the encounter on the bench, Camacho aligned the 29-year-old who played a solid match in central midfield. Neko and Punal won their battle and asphyxiated the hosts midfield.

Osasuna’s other Iranian, Masoud Shojaei, who started instead of Aranda as Pandiani’s partner upfront also showed a solid performance,  creating a lot of trouble in Villarreal’s defense.

Osasuna: Ricardo, Azpilicueta, Flaño, Sergio, Monreal, Puñal, Nekounam, Juanfran, Camuñas (Ruper, m.86), Masoud (Calleja, m.70), Pandiani (Dady, m.86),

Goals: 0-1, m.14 Juanfran. 0-2, m.85 Juanfran.