While the outside world is full of praise for Villarreal and Van Bizhuang, Villarreal has already begun to prepare for the next round of the league.

In the past half a month, for Villarreal, it can be described as mixed and mixed.

Happily, after meticulous research and preparation, they successfully defeated Premier League giants Arsenal, and eliminated their opponents with an aggregate score of 6:2 over two legs, and successfully advanced to the Champions League semi-finals.

This is the best result achieved by Villarreal in the history of the Champions League, and this result, now equaled, means that this Villarreal team has been recorded in the history of the club, and this is not only that, if they can continue to move forward, then it will surpass history and become the legend of this Villarreal team, which will be engraved in the club's book of honor.

It can be said that advancing to the semi-finals of the Champions League is a major event that Villarreal Club feels extremely happy and proud of from top to bottom.

And behind this joy, there is a hidden worry. That is, Villarreal has not performed very well in the league in the past month and a half.

At present, they have lost two consecutive league games, and the ranking has also been overtaken by Sevilla, falling to third place in the standings, fourth-placed White Real Madrid, and then Atletico Madrid. With the advantage accumulated in the early and middle stages of the league, at present, Villarreal still has a certain points advantage, but this advantage is rapidly shrinking, not so obvious, if it can not recover the decline, then Villarreal is likely to fall to the fourth in the league, or even fall out of the top four.

At the beginning of the season, Villarreal's plan was to go as far as the Champions League could go, just go as far as it could, just do your best, and keep moving forward, which is naturally a good thing, if you are eliminated, it doesn't have to be too much of a pity, to be able to represent La Liga in the highest level of European football club competitions, after playing six group games, Villarreal can be said to be earned, the expansion of game income and influence, which makes the seaside club already very satisfied.

And the league is obviously more important than the Champions League, after all, this is the foundation of a team's development. As runners-up in the league last season, Villarreal are not aiming for a high level, as long as they can finish in the top four of the league this season.

In the first 20 rounds, Villarreal has been smooth sailing on this goal, and the second place in the league is enough for them to sit back and relax, and even distract themselves to devote more energy to the European arena.

But now, the Champions League is going well, all the way forward, the league is showing signs of a fire in the backyard, now ranked third in the league, and could fall to fourth in the league at any time, or even fifth in the league, how can this not be worrying?

For a small club like Villarreal, the Champions League is like an occasional meal, delicious, but not eligible to enjoy every meal, and the league is the white rice of daily life, which may not be delicious, but it is essential.

If they want to be able to eat big meals regularly, then the league is the most important thing, and only by ensuring a top-four ranking in the league can they continue to show their face on the European stage next season.

Otherwise......

The benefits and fame that the Champions League can bring to clubs is extremely attractive for small clubs, so even if they don't perform well in Europe, it doesn't matter, the most important thing is the league. Without a league, it is extremely difficult to get more benefits, to make more people known, and even to develop smoothly.

After all, a team that can only occasionally appear on a big stage like the Champions League, not to mention the passerby, is about the same, no one will remember this soy sauce role, and fans and the media will always pay attention to those protagonists who can shine.

The Champions League is strong, the league is declining, Villarreal is a bit of a sesame seed and lost the watermelon, but fortunately, the current situation of the submarine is not too bad, the league is third, and they still have a chance to make amends. As long as they don't make too many mistakes in the subsequent league, then the top four positions in the league can still be guaranteed, after all, compared to Atletico Madrid, which is ranked fifth, it also has a lot of initiative.

……

On April 19, all the members of Villarreal arrived in Valladolid, the capital city of Castilla y León, Spain, by bus, where they will face Valladolid in the 31st round of the league.

Villarreal, who have lost two consecutive league games, is a must-win for this game, and Pellegrini will try to save the league with a win.

But the game didn't go so smoothly.

In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals just past midweek, Manuel Pellegrini's team worked hard, but after returning to the league, they only made a rough adjustment for three days, and the players' physical and mental state have not fully recovered, and they showed a somewhat tired feeling on the field.

Although Valladolid is not a strong team, and the current league ranking is only hovering in the middle and lower reaches, their posture is very low, and they have set up a bucket formation as soon as they come up, and their intention is very simple, when facing the league upstart submarine, it is already a victory to be able to get a point.

Valladolid's full-fledged defense has created a lot of trouble for Villarreal, and their tough and resolute defensive actions have also knocked the away team players to the ground from time to time, and Villarreal's offensive in the first ten minutes has been interrupted from time to time, and the rhythm is intermittent, which naturally creates a lot less threat to the home team's goal.

Fan Bizhuang has also recruited the opponent's key care, as the current league scorer number one player, and at the same time is the absolute core of Villarreal, naturally no team will take him lightly, no matter where Fan Bizhuang runs, there will always be a small follower by his side, and not far away, there are defensive players eyeing it, ready to come over at any time to help defend and fill the position.

Fan Bizhuang's attitude to the game was as positive as ever, but under the close pursuit of the opponent, there was no good opportunity for the time being, coupled with the team's strong spirit to launch a fierce attack, the effect was also very little, Villarreal had no choice but to turn to positional warfare, slowly and the opponent around.

Fortunately, Villarreal is undoubtedly more than a step stronger than their opponents in terms of strength, coupled with Valladolid's initiative to cede control of the midfield, the visiting team firmly controls the initiative on the field, and the advantage is still obvious.

Towards the end of the first half, Valladolid took advantage of one of the few counter-attacking opportunities to finish with a shot that Vieira flew to save and the home side were awarded a corner.

It was also with this corner kick that the home team, which was at an absolute disadvantage at half-time, unexpectedly took the lead.

Young Spanish midfielder Alzo took a corner kick, Brazilian centre-back Nivaldo carried Gonzalo and shook his head in front of the goal, Vieira couldn't react, and the ball went through the goal.

1:0！

Valladolid went into the half-time break ahead of Villarreal with this goal.

Such a score was obviously not satisfactory to Pellegrini, especially when the team was in absolute control for most of the game, so in the dressing room at halftime, Pellegrini asked his players to run more aggressively in the second half and put more pressure on the opposition defence.

At the same time, Pellegrini also saw the fatigue of the team, he replaced Gonzalo with Fuentes, who had some minor problems due to the scramble to land, and there were also changes in the front, Rossi replaced Forlan, who was sleepwalking in the first half, and several good shots were wasted, and it was clear that after continuous campaigns, fatigue made the Uruguayan striker a little sluggish.

Despite the substitutions and the introduction of two new players, the task of scoring goals is still difficult for Villarreal.

The unexpected lead in the first half made Valladolid ecstatic, and at the same time more determined to hold on to the fruits of victory, in the second half of the game, their defense was more determined, almost not attacking, and all the players were withdrawn into the half, that is, a "I don't attack, either you will score, or I just don't come out" posture, which can be said to put the bus to an unprecedented height.

This made Pellegrini on the sidelines angry and jumped his feet again and again, wanting to explode and curse, the team had the upper hand, but no matter how he attacked, it was difficult to create a big threat, because the opponent's full defense made the entire half crowded, especially around the penalty area, almost densely packed with figures and long legs, which made Villarreal's offensive space extremely small.

And Villarreal also doesn't have a tall stumbling center, and facing the opponent's iron bucket formation stacked with a sea of people, this makes them feel extremely headaches.

In the face of this "rogue" defensive tactic, Pellegrini can only cry in vain, and can only keep praying for the team's good luck.

Time passed quickly, the offensive and defensive drills lasted almost more than 80 minutes, and seeing that the game was about to enter stoppage time, Villarreal, who had been resolutely attacking, finally scored a goal.

With outstanding individual ability, after receiving Riquelme's pass at the front of the penalty area, Fan Bizhuang did not choose to pass the ball before entering, but knocked on his heel, and used an almost juggling action to shake the home team player who followed him behind him, and then quickly took the ball, facing the oncoming defender Nivaldo, Fan Bizhuang stepped very fast and flicked, flashed the opponent at the same time, and also entered the penalty area.

Breaking through the defense of the two in a row, Fan Bizhuang, who entered the penalty area, already had space to get up, but the near corner of the goal was firmly blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper.