Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld helped Villarreal to a 2-3 win over Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday with two goals. Thanks to the win, the Spanish LaLiga club qualified for the last 16.
Danjuma opened the score for Villarreal in the third minute by playing the ball between the legs of Atalanta goalkeeper Juan Musso after a long sprint. A few minutes before the break, Etienne Capoue made it 0-2 with a shot into the top corner.
Early in the second half, 24-year-old Dutchman made his second of the evening. This time, the Orange international pushed the ball in from the spin.
Atalanta brought the tension back in the final phase through goals from Ruslan Malinovsky and Duvan Zapata, but the equaliser was no longer possible.
“We are disappointed, but also feel we gave everything we had. It’s really sad, because we want to qualify and be in the last 16.” Zapata said.
“That’s how it is, we have to focus on Serie A now, because thanks to our form in the league, we can be here.
“They scored very early and we tried to fight back, but I think the anxiety is on us. Villarreal are a very good team and they played very well tonight.” Zapata added.
Marten de Roon and Hans Hateboer had a basic place with the Italians and Teun Koopmeiners remained on the bench.
The match between Atalanta and Villarreal could not take place on Wednesday due to heavy snowfall. The kick-off in Bergamo was initially postponed by twenty minutes so that the field could be cleared of snow. It didn’t stop snowing, making the turf unplayable.
Thanks to the win, Villarreal finished second in Group F with ten points. Manchester United had already qualified for the knockout phase. Atalanta advances to the knockout stage of the Europa League as number three.
