ANDl Villarreal will play the second final in its history visibly depleted after the most complicated summer that is remembered in the tile set. And it is still a shame that the yellows do not arrive in the best conditions to be able to cGo face to face with a team of the potential of Chelsea, king of Europe last season.
Injuries, key players without preseason to use given their internationalities and above all, the damn COVID pandemic, have left a team that has been forced to paralyze its preseason to carry out individual work and suspend the “stages” Europeans that he had planned. What was going to be a demanding summer, with matches against important rivals to prepare for the Belfast duel, had to vary on the fly and adapt to adverse circumstances that have not helped the people of Castellón at all.
Without footballers like Gerard, Estupiñán or Pau Throughout the summer, being focused on their national teams, the problems in the form of injuries were not long in coming. A key footballer in Emery’s schemes such as Dani Parejo, was injured in a friendly against Levante and left Villarreal an orphan of his leadership for this start of the championship. But it would not be the greatest of evils. Despite the precautions taken, the COVID He entered the yellow locker room to devastate the squad. Between infected and direct contacts, the list was as long as it was important due to the potential of those affected. Iborra, Capoue, Moi Gómez, Alcácer, Coquelin, Boulayé Day , all of them knocked out for much of the summer.
