Goalless draw at Madrigal stadium

Goalless draw at Madrigal stadium

Villarreal remain without a win after six rounds of the Primera Division following a disappointing goalless draw at home to 10-man Espanyol.

Ernesto Valverde's side have suffered a dreadful start to the season and came into this match with just two points from their previous five matches.

And despite a slow start to this game, they seemed very likely to seal all three points when Espanyol were reduced to 10 men after just 14 minutes.

Yet although they had the better of the play after Juan Forlin's dismissal, Villarreal were unable to find a way past Espanyol's in-form goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.

The 'Yellow Submarine' came into this match second from bottom in the La Liga standings.

Espanyol propped up the league themselves after back-to-back defeats in the first two rounds of the championship, but had climbed to 10th place before this match thanks to two wins and a draw in their last three outings.

The Catalans drew a blank at home to bottom club Xerez in their last game though, and coach Mauricio Pochettino called for an improvement in front of goal in this encounter.

But Villarreal, determined to put an end to their miserable run in recent weeks, started better.

They were struggling to find a way through however as Espanyol defended well in the early stages.

And the home side were nearly architects of their own downfall after 13 minutes when Diego Godin hacked Luis Garcia's cross onto the woodwork.

Having survived with that slice of luck, Valverde's side were given a further boost a minute later as Forlin - the last man - was shown the red card for pulling back Giuseppe Rossi as the Italy striker bore down on goal.

Kameni did well to save Marcos Senna's stinging drive from the resulting free-kick.

Pochettino then sacrificed Japan forward Shunsuke Nakamura, bringing on Argentinian defender Ivan Pillud.

Pillud slotted in alongside compatriot Nico Pareja at the back and Espanyol continued with just Jose Callejon up front.

But Kameni was the protagonist for the visitors. The Cameroon keeper came out superbly to deny Rossi after the former Manchester United striker had been brilliantly set up by Santi Cazorla just short of the half-hour mark.

Rossi was not enjoying the best of afternoons and flashed wide from close range just before half-time.

Espanyol then had Kameni to thank once more on the hour, when he reacted superbly to make a stunning one-handed save to keep out Cazorla's fierce low shot.

With time running out, Rossi then saw another effort deflect off Pareja.

And just three minutes before the end Senna should have secured a late victory for the locals but made a mess of his effort, failing to hit the target from close-range.

The home side had failed to break down an Espanyol side playing with a man down for five sixths of the match and Villarreal will go into the forthcoming international break with morale at a low, and still in the bottom three.

For their part, Espanyol remain in 10th spot, but will be happy with the point won given the circumstances of this match.