Villarreal vs. Real Madrid: Score, Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

Villarreal beat Real Madrid 1-0 at the Estadio El Madrigal in La Liga on Sunday to leave Los Blancos five points off Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Roberto Soldado gave Villarreal an early lead as the hosts enjoyed much the better start, and despite Real coming back strongly after the break, the visitors were unable to take any of their many chances or even significantly test goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

The only major change for Los Blancos saw Casemiro come in for Toni Kroos. Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez was unsurprised by the change:

In stark contrast to their 8-0 win over Malmo, Real's front three put in yet another anonymous performance in the first half, as they failed to achieve any kind of fluency or rhythm in the final third.

The hosts fired a warning shot after just four minutes when Cedric Bakambu drove forward and moved the ball to Jonathan dos Santos, who crashed a vicious effort onto the post.

It was a warning Real failed to take, as Villarreal scored just three minutes later.

Soriano Bruno won possession in midfield, and the ball fell to Bakambu, who picked out Soldado to tuck past Keylor Navas. The goal ended a significant goal drought for the striker, per Squawka Football:

The Yellow Submarine were invigorated by the goal and played with energy and relentless enthusiasm, demonstrated by Victor Ruiz's sublime tackle on the marauding Marcelo to prevent the Brazilian's dangerous run into the area.

At the other end two minutes later, Real had Pepe to thank, as he made a vital interception to prevent Bakambu from picking out Soldado once again.

It wasn't until the 25th minute that Real had their first sniff of a chance, when Karim Benzema blasted a half-volley well over the bar.

Dominguez opined on what Villarreal needed to do to earn greater success:

Bakambu continued to cause problems as the hosts did just that, and the forward flashed a shot wide after getting in behind Pepe before sending another over the bar, once again exposing the Portuguese centre-back.

Football writer Andrew Gaffney gave his take on the proceedings:

The second half saw a significant change from Real, as they caused their opponents far more problems.

Benzema had two very promising early chances, as he sent efforts wide and then high after twice being picked out by Gareth Bale, while Cristiano Ronaldo had a shot blocked by Ruiz and Bale then forced a save from Areola.

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

The hosts were limited to rare counter-attacks as Real kept them pinned back, so Bakambu should have done better when presented with an opportunity on the edge of the area, but the Congolese opted to back-heel to a team-mate rather than shoot and the chance was wasted.

Yet another opportunity fell to Benzema, but he sent his header from Bale's exquisite cross off-target despite being completely unmarked, while James Rodriguez sent an effort of his own wide after evading two defenders. Squawka Football highlighted their unusual profligacy:

Real continued to push until the final whistle, but it was to no avail, as the hosts held on for all they're worth.

The result and the front three's wastefulness will only serve to increase the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez. If he can't coax more ruthless performances in Real's next two games—both at the Bernabeu—the fans will be seriously on his back.

As for Villarreal, they showed their credentials for finishing in a Champions League spot and are now just one point off Celta Vigo in fourth.

Post-Match Reaction

Per AS English, Benitez conceded this was the kind of game Real needed to win in order to take the league title. He said:

"To win the league, we have to win a lot of games, including games like this. But our first half performance was very poor. We're still the team with most shots on target in the league but we need to be more effective in front of goal."

He was also pushed on his decision to play Casemiro instead of Kroos, and gave a curt response:

Villarreal manager Marcelino offered support to his beleaguered counterpart. Per AS English, he said: "Madrid were unlucky—a draw would have been a fairer result but luck plays a part in football."