Villarreal are rarely in the media in terms of transfers or football politics. While Real Madrid made all the back pages in all the newspaper outlets for their pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo and as Barcelona sacked Rijkaard, bringing in reserve team boss Pep Guardiola and a number of new signings, Villarreal were quiet as usual. They made some astute signings in Llorente and Ibazaga, whilst retaining their best players, such as Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla. Yet on Sunday night, a wonderful game between Villarreal and the always entertaining Atletico Madrid was all about Robert Pires and Simao Sambrosa.

The Portuguese winger sent Atletico fans into delirium, after firing home in off the bar after just a minute in the game. The away side followed this momentum with Forlan doubling the advantage on 22 minutes. Yet the adventurous Atleti, with Kun Aguero only on the bench were dealt a huge blow, when the volatile Argentinean and part-time internet flasher and drink-driver Ever Banega was sent off for a reckless tackle. The incident provided the catalyst for Villarreal, with Robert Pires, providing a passing masterclass. Euro 2008 winner Marcos Senna fired one in from more than 35 yards as the comeback began.

Then following a fast break Giuseppe Rossi fed Joseba Llorente, who slid the ball past Leo Franco to equalise. It seemed with Pires appearing in little pockets of space all over the pitch, the home side’s domination would result in countless goals. The former Arsenal man touched back a free kick to Gonzalo, who rifled the ball home for the lead. Atleti were out of the game with Villarreal’s possession game moving them to another level. Pires may have lost his speed and physicality, albeit limited physicality, but his tactical nous and undoubted intelligence more than levels the playing field.

Once again, some clever passing saw Cazorla slip in Rossi, who ran across the goalkeeper and slotted in. Manuel Pellegrini saw the game as won and decided to save Pires for another day. The veteran Frenchman was applauded by an El Madrigal crowd on 81 minutes for a wonderful display and the game changed. Simao took the mantle on for the game’s outstanding player, grabbing his second, after he capitalised on an error from Gonzalo. Villarreal seemed to drop their tempo and impressive ‘full court pressing’ (to borrow a basketball phrase), as they conceded a free kick. Simao was on hand to float the ball in towards Raul Garcia, who headed in to equalise.

Yet the action did not end there. Diego Forlan was played through once again, but rather than shooting first time, the Uruguayan elected to cut in. The former Manchester United man lost the ball and the chance for the ten men of Atletico to take all three points against a shell-shocked home side. In one of the most entertaining games in the Spanish league, it seemed a draw was fair, with Villarreal not reclaiming top spot, while Atletico stopped a run of defeats against Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Villarreal 4-4 Atletico Madrid FT