No victorious debut for C.D. Leganés in 2022 as they suffered a defeat in Valladolid (1-0). Weissman's goal on the stroke of half-time proved enough to procure all three points from the encounter against a still-competitive Leganés down by four centre-backs amongst other absences.
From the outset, Mehdi Nafti's approach was relatively unchanged from the side that won their final game of 2021 in Málaga: Bustinza and Quintillà were introduced to the starting lineup in the places of Omeruo and Sergio González. The squad was depleted by a further six absences, including four of the pure centre-backs in the team. Colonel Bustinza and Javi Hernández were the reinforcements for the pepinero back line.
Weissman with the buzzer beater
It was even Javi Hernández who led the first pepinero charge in the 8’, with Masip only just diverting from the bottom left. Óscar Plano delivered the local repsonse by forcing a corner from Riesgo's phenomenal intervention. In the 18’, Naim managed to settle the ball at his feet enough to launch an effort after Leganés forced a turnover in the final third but the trajectory was too high to find the target. Then, Borja Garcés brought the attackers into the game with a heavy right-footed shot to complete a counter attack, though the home keeper held fast.
It was right before the half-time whistle sounded that Valladolid were nodded into the lead with Weissman's header to finish Nacho's cross. The teams reached the break at 1-0.
Bautista came closest for Leganés in the second half
No changes during the rest, but Leganés came out with desire as Gaku's 56' probing effort on Masip showed cracks in the Pucelano goal. Mehdi Nafti soon introduced a triple change to the squad, bringing in Juan Muñoz, Sabin Merino and Bautista for Naim, Gaku and Borja Garcés. Following a Toni Villa effort, Plata struck the post in the 62', leading into a sharp counter from Leganés in the 65' that was disappointed by Sabin's high header.
Leganés were on the brink of equalising in the 74’, when Quintillà squared the ball to Bautista, but Masip dived at the last minute to smother the shot. The fourth blanquiazul change was Recio's replacement by Doukouré in the central midfield. The last spark in the attack came in the 81’, with Randjelović's supply to Arnaiz uncoverted.
As the final whistle went, Leganés finish the first round of 2022 LaLiga SmartBank football with 25 points to their league campaign; their next match coming this Wednesday at 16:00 (CET) in the Copa Del Rey against Real Sociedad at the Butarque.
