Match Analysis: Bolton & Villarreal Relegated

With only Ligue 1 left open for business this Sunday, last weekend saw the crucial relegation issues decided across three of Europe’s top five leagues. WhoScored takes a look at two of the sides to drop down a division, with Bolton’s draw at Stoke and Villarreal’s home defeat by Atletico Madrid both coming under the microscope:

Walters at the Double as Bolton Go Down – Match Report

Owen Coyle’s Bolton arrived at the Britannia with their fate out of their own hands. The Trotters needed to win against Stoke and also required a victory for Man City in their home game against QPR in order to survive. While City kept their side of the bargain as Sergio’s Aguero’s late goal clinched the three points and the title for Roberto Mancini’s men, Bolton mustered only a draw and resultantly dropped down to the Championship with 36 points, a single point behind the London outfit.

In an end-to-end affair, Stoke just edged possession, with 51% of the play. The hosts attacked down their right flank 52% of the time, with right-back Andy Wilkinson seeing more of the ball than any of their players, producing 67 touches. As the Player Position map shows, Wilkinson (28) tended to drift centrally when in possession and, despite so much time on the ball, made just 29 passes. With Matthew Etherington (26) also offering little width on the opposite flank, the central midfield pair of Glenn Whelan and Dean Whitehead made the most passes, with 42 and 36 respectively – while the latter was his side’s chief creator, producing 3 key passes.

While left-back Sam Rickets had the most touches (73) and made the most passes (41), the visitors attacked down his flank just 29% of the time. Similar to Stoke, they favoured the right, with 40% of their offensive forays coming down this side of the pitch – in spite of this, Martin Petrov, on the left flank, made 15 crosses compared to right winger Chris Eagles’ 4. As the Player Position map indicates, Petrov (10) stayed wide when in possession, while Eagles (7) drifted inside more often, though both players managed a couple of key passes apiece.

Bolton’s determination to win back possession as they hunted a win was shown in the tackle count –the visitors made 23 to Stoke’s 13, with all but one of Owen Coyle’s defenders and midfielders making 2 or more tackles. Central midfielders Mark Davies and Nigel Reo-Coker stood out; Davies made 5 tackles and an interception, while Reo-Coker managed 4 tackles and a couple of interceptions. Tim Ream excelled in defence, producing 3 tackles, 3 interceptions, 17 clearances and blocking 2 shots.

On the other hand, only five of the thirteen players used by Tony Pulis over the 90 minutes made more than a single tackle. Central defensive pairing Matthew Upson and Ryan Shawcross were kept busy, with 15 and 18 clearances respectively, in addition to a couple of tackles apiece.

Bolton also led the way on goal attempts, firing 20 shots to Stoke’s 17 but a glance at the Shot Zones highlights the fact that many of the visitors’ attempts came from afar. As much as 60% of their shots were from outside the penalty box, compared to just 35% from the hosts – as a result, Coyle’s side managed just 4 efforts on target to Stoke’s 7.

The home side’s front duo of Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters were a constant threat, with 4 shots apiece. Although Crouch managed 3 on target, he failed to find the net, while Walters scored with both his efforts on target, breaking a scoring drought that had lasted 19 league matches and picking up the WhoScored man of the match award, with a rating of 8.6.

Bolton’s shooting was woeful. Petrov and Eagles had the most efforts, with 5 and 4 respectively, but neither managed a single shot on target. Kevin Davies hit the woodwork and scored from his 3 attempts, while namesake Mark Davies netted with his only shot of the match. Despite their endeavours, it wasn’t enough, however, with Championship football now beckoning for Coyle’s troops come next August.

Falcao Sinks the Yellow Submarine – Match Report

Villarreal headed into the final game of the season just a single point above the relegation zone. Sitting on 41 points, with both Rayo Vallecano and Zaragoza on 40 apiece, a win at home to Atletico Madrid would seal their survival regardless of events elsewhere. With the visitors buoyed by their recent Europa Cup triumph, however, the home side were up against it and a 1-0 loss, combined with victories for both Rayo and Zaragoza, saw them drop out of La Liga.

The away side had slightly more possession, with 52% of the play. With 43% of the game played in the middle third of the pitch, it was no real surprise that Tiago saw more of the ball than any other player. As the Player Position map shows, Tiago (5) sat in front of the Atletico back-four in a 4-2-3-1, managing 83 touches and 72 passes. Diego was the visitors’ chief creator, though; playing in the hole behind Falcao, he provided 3 goalscoring opportunities from a total of 51 passes.

It was a similar scenario for the Yellow Submarine. Their midfield three of Bruno, Marcos Senna and Carlos Marchena made the most passes, with 59, 54 and 45 respectively, though a lack of real creativity meant no home player made more than a single key pass.

With their top-flight prospects on the line, Villarreal showed plenty of battle, making 29 tackles to Atletico’s 18. Once again, their trio of midfielders were at the heart of the action. Senna made 6 tackles and 2 interceptions, Marchena made 5 tackles and 4 interceptions, while Bruno also chipped in with a couple of tackles and 5 interceptions. For the visitors, left-back Felipe Luis was by far the busiest man. With Villarreal attacking down their right flank 46% of the time, Luis made 3 tackles and an incredible 11 interceptions to break up the hosts’ attacks time and again, picking up the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 8.52.

For all their graft, Villarreal lacked any sort of composure in front of goal, managing just a single effort on target from a total of 10 attempts. Atletico were slightly more accurate, with 4 of their 11 shots on target. Lone forward Marco Ruben was particularly culpable for the hosts – all 3 of his efforts were wayward, while Senna also had 3 shots, with only 1 on target.

Only Eduardo Salvio had more than a single shot for the visitors but, despite his 4 attempts, he failed to find the net, with just 1 effort on target. Once again, it was left to Falcao to demonstrate his clinical nature in front of goal; the former Porto man broke the home side’s hearts by netting with his only shot of the match and taking his tally to 24 in the league and 33 from 44 appearances in all competitions since signing in the summer.

It was a bitter last few minutes of the season for the Villareal. Despite conceding to Falcao in the 88th minute, they still looked on course to avoid the drop until Raul Tamudo grabbed an injury time winner for Rayo Vallecano at home to Granada, with the 1-0 win sending the Yellow Submarine through the La Liga trap door.