We suffered a difficult 3-0 defeat at the hands of Villarreal CF as our winless run in LaLiga continues.
Luis García Plaza name a relatively unchanged side to the one which beat RCD Espanyol in the Copa del Rey 2-1 a week ago. Pablo Maffeo returned to the starting XI while Rodrigo Battaglia was named in midfield.
We did not get off to the best start as Russo was unlucky to deflect Alfonso Pedraza’s cross into his own net in the 12th minute.
The hosts would have doubled their advantage less than a minute later had it not been for a good save from academy graduate Leo Roman to deny Moisés Gómez.
We settled into the game after a difficult start and should have drawn ourselves level in the 20th minute when Amath Ndiaye sneaked in at the back post to head into the opposition goalkeeper’s hands.
The hosts doubled their advantage against the run of play when Manu Trigueros converted Pedraza’s pull back in the 34th minute.
We headed into the break requiring a big second half performance to draw level and came close to pulling a goal back after the restart when Fer Niño’s header skimmed the bar in the 58th minute.
Roman had to be at his best to later deny Alberto Moreno’s long-range effort, before the hosts were awarded a penalty in the 86th minute following a VAR review which Dani Parejo not only converted, but saw Russo receive his marching orders on an afternoon to forget.
Villarreal CF: Rulli, Mario Gaspar, Pau Torres, Albiol, Pedraza, Iborra, Parejo (90'), Trigueros, Alberto Moreno, Yeremi (68'), Moi Gómez (90')
Substitutes: Asenjo, Iker, Estupiñán, Raba (90'), Mandi, Jackson (68'), De La Fuente, Nikita (90'), Carlo, Arana
RCD Mallorca: Leo Román, Maffeo, Valjent, Russo, Jaume Costa, Battaglia, Ruiz de Galarreta (69'), Amath (57'), Take (69'), Dani Rodríguez (76'), Abdón (57')
Substitutes: Manolo Reina, Sergio Rico, Pep Gayà, Mboula, Salva Sevilla (69'), Fer Niño (57'), Antonio Sánchez (57'), Hoppe, Kang-In (69'), Ángel (76'), Miguelito
Goals: Russo (OG), 1-0 (11'); Trigueros, 2-0 (33'); Parejo, 3-0 (87')
