Villarreal 5-1 Twente: Nilmar nets twice

as Dutch champions outclassed

Yellow Submarine took advantage of a
Dutch defence all at sea, as wave after
wave of attack resulted in a five-goal
demolition to make second leg mere
formality
Villarreal all but booked their place in the Europa
League semi-finals as the decision of Twente coach
Michel Preud'homme to play a back three backfired
in spectacular fashion.

The Dutch champions were simply overwhelmed by

Villarreal, losing 5-1 in El Madrigal. Nilmar scored
twice as The Yellow Submarine laid down a marker
to any other would-be contenders for the trophy.

Both sides were cagey in the opening twenty minutes

before the goal however, Villarreal were dominant
thereafter with a more expansive game.

Villarreal's opening goal after 23 minutes came as

something of a surprise as neither side had looked
threatening beforehand. Borja Valero's corner was
smartly flicked on at the near post by Jesus Catala
into the path of Carlos Marchena, who nodded the
ball past Twente goalkeeper Nicolai Mihaylov.
Preud'homme will have been disappointed at his
side's poor marking from the corner, with Luuk De
Jong losing concentration at the wrong moment.

Twente received another body blow when Luuk De

Jong went off in the 32nd minute with injury to be
replaced by Janko. Moments later, Nilmar hit the
post when he really should have scored, having
chipped Mihaylov.

If the first goal had been unexpected, the second was

the logical conclusion to an excellent spell of play for
the home side. Valero, who had begun to pull the
strings in midfield, latched onto an excellent through
ball from Santiago Cazorla. The midfielder kept his
cool to slide the ball past Mihaylov into the net as
Twente's three-man backline was once again
ruthlessly exposed.

Peter Wisgerhof may have brought a great deal

solidity to the Twente defence but he let his side
down badly in first-half stoppage time. The Tukkers'
skipper helped on a long-throw in into the path of
Nilmar, who did not look a gift horse in the mouth,
and helped himself to one of the easiest goals he will
score all season.
 Yellow Submarine | Villarreal sunk their visitors
with five goals

Twente improved slightly after the break. Bryan

Ruiz sprung the offside trap on 53 minutes but
headed disappointingly wide and after Cazorla's shot
was saved, Janko blasted over the bar just before the
hour.

Giuseppe Rossi then showed just why he is the top

scorer in this season's Europa League with a
magnificent fourth, just as Twente had begun to find
their feet. The Twente defenders fatally backed off,
allowing the Italian international to pick out the top
corner with a superb left-footed strike that left
Mihaylov motionless.

The Austrian was fortunate to only be booked on 70

minutes for a rash challenge from behind, which saw
Gonzalo Rodriguez stretchered off.

Nilmar added the icing on the cake with a brilliant

fifth goal with ten minutes remaining. His first touch
took the ailing Douglas out of the game before he
clinically blasted the ball past Mihaylov. Marc Janko
netted a late consolation goal in injury time, heading
home Wisgerhof's cross past Diego Lopez to avert
Twente's heaviest ever defeat in European
competition.

Both sides will meet in seven days time for the

second leg at the Grolsch Veste in Enschede in a
match that has effectively become a dead rubber.