Marcelino given rude awakening in first match as Villarreal survive huge scare to secure Copa del Rey progression | OneFootball

It has been a very difficult season so far for Villarreal, who have already burned through two managers (Quique Setien and Pacheta) in the first three months of the campaign. Their third, the returning Marcelino Garcia Toral, took charge of his first match on Wednesday as the Yellow Submarine faced Zamora in the Copa del Rey, and it was almost a disaster.

Villarreal dominated the entire match, but fell behind to fourth-tier Zamora just after half time courtesy of Asier Etxaburu. That forced Marcelino to call on the likes of Gerard Moreno, Juan Foyth and Alex Baena from the bench, although they could not find an equaliser until the 88th minute.

Jose Luis Morales found the back of the net to spare Villarreal’s blushes, and force the tie into extra time, and it was he who would score the winner for the Groguets six minutes into the additional 30-minute period, finishing from close range after being set up by Etienne Capoue.

It certainly wasn’t a convincing victory for Villarreal, and Marcelino will be aware that work needs to be done before his first La Liga match this weekend, which sees Osasuna head to the Estadio de la Ceramica.