Despite performing fantastically in LaLiga, where they are just five points adrift of leaders Barcelona with a game in hand, Villarreal’s UCL campaign has been close to disastrous, amassing just one point from their opening five games.
That effectively made this encounter a must-win, yet the hosts found themselves behind less than two minutes in as Copenhagen pounced. Marcos Lopez curled a fantastic ball into Mohamed Elyounoussi, who slotted beyond Luiz Junior to give the Danish outfit a massive boost in their own hopes of qualifying for the playoff round.
For the remainder of the opening 15 minutes, Copenhagen were arguably the better side, even if Tajon Buchanan’s shot from outside the box was not far away from nestling in the bottom corner.
Eventually, Villarreal grew into the clash, mainly thanks to the efforts of Nicolas Pepe. The winger was a constant threat across the front line, and it was his header that produced the best save from Dominik Kotarski before the interval. Ultimately, though, Copenhagen were able to hold on into half-time.
The visitors’ resistance was breached less than two minutes after the restart. Obviously unhappy with his side’s display, Marcelino made a triple substitution at the break - including the surprising replacement of Pepe - and two of those new arrivals made an immediate impact as Santi Comesana slid in at the back post to poke in Ilias Akhomach’s cross.
However, parity lasted less than a minute as almost immediately at the other end, another substitute put Copenhagen back in front as Elias Achouri swept Yoram Zague’s ball past Junior, who may feel he should have done far better in his attempts to save.
A frantic start to the second period had another twist as another substitute, Tani Oluwaseyi, scored Villarreal’s second equaliser, placing his shot past Kotarski with the outside of his foot in the 56th minute.
After that, Villarreal dominated proceedings once more, pushing forward in desperate search of a winner. However, they lacked a clinical edge, with poor end product often the issue highlighted by Ayoze Perez’s gilt-edged miss from close range.
And they were made to pay, as Copenhagen took the lead for a third time right at the death. Unsurprisingly, it was another sub who was the hero as Cornelius hammered into the corner from close range.
From there, Copenhagen were able to hold and keep their knockout dreams alive with games against Napoli and Barcelona to come. Marcelino’s men, meanwhile, are on the brink of elimination with two games remaining and have now won just three of their previous 21 UCL league phase/group stage matches
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mohamed Elyounoussi (Copenhagen)