Villarreal destroyed by PSG in Champions League, break unwanted goals record
Villarreal made some Champions League history on Tuesday evening, but not the kind you want to be associated with. The Spanish side were always going to be in tough against back-to-back winners Paris Saint-Germain, but nobody predicted PSG scoring four goals in the opening 16 minutes and two seconds.
That is now the Champions League record for the fastest a team has ever scored four, and PSG did not take their foot off the brake. Villarreal, whose starting lineup featured Canadian winger Tajon Buchanan, managed to stop the bleeding until halftime, but PSG added two more in the second half for a resounding 6-0 win.
Joao Neves' clever strike opened the scoring nine minutes in, before Desire Doue and Senny Mayulu both punished Villarreal 'keeper Peter Gulacsi for sloppy mistakes in his own half. Fabian Ruiz scored his first of two goals on the day in the 17th minute to make history and put the game beyond any doubt with 73 minutes left.
Ruiz's 50th-minute strike made it five for PSG before Neves set up 17-year-old full-back David Boly for his first European goal in the 78th minute to make it an even six. It was a night to forget for Gulacsi and his defenders, though the Hungarian goalkeeper faced 12 shots on target and it could have been a lot worse.
Buchanan was arguably Villarreal's best player of a poor bunch, going the full 90 minutes and creating a couple of scoring chances on a night where Villarreal did not get many of them - mostly limited to shots from distance. Tani Oluwaseyi came off the bench in the second half to try and salvage something, but he could not score for the third UCL match in a row after scoring against Napoli and Liverpool earlier in the tournament.
After missing two matches with a muscle injury, Canadian midfielder Nathan Saliba looked set to return to the Villarreal squad for their biggest match of the season so far, but did not make the matchday squad. Head coach Iñigo Pérez said in his pregame press conference on Tuesday that Saliba has returned to training and would be available against PSG, though Saliba did not end up making the matchday 18 - despite being named to Canada's squad for November's Nations League quarterfinals against Guatemala earlier in the day.
Not only was it a big occasion to host the top club in the continent over the past couple of seasons, but Villarreal wanted a win to keep pace with the other teams chasing a spot in the knockout rounds. PSG are one of four teams left with a perfect record, after Barcelona beat Aston Villa on Tuesday.
While the Parisians are 4-0-0, Real Betis, Liverpool and Real Madrid are 3-0-0 before playing Wednesday. Afterlosing at home to Espanyol on Fridayand now this heavy defeat, Villarreal will be keen to put their best foot forward on Sunday, at home against Getafe.
Getafe play Promise David's Brighton and Hove Albion in Conference League play on Thursday. PSG have been one of Europe's dominant forces lately, winning back-to-back UCL crowns and five straight Ligue 1 titles.