Virtuoso Villa Sinks Russians

A superb hat-trick from David Villa has lifted Spain to an emphatic 4-1 victory over Russia in the opening game of Group D at Euro 2008 in Innsbruck.

Despite only showing indifferent form in the lead-up to the tournament, the Spaniards put in an assured performance, outclassing a Russian side lacking any real creativity, and the margin could have been more had they not wasted a number of chances.

Villa's hat-trick, the first of the tournament, a late goal from Cesc Fabregas, and a comprehensive midfield performance all round will certainly please under-fire manager Luis Aragones.

For the Russians, manager Guus Hiddink will be immensely disappointed with his side's performance, which allowed the Spanish midfield, boasting the creative flair of Barcelona pair Xavi and Andres Iniesta too much space too often.

His defence will give him further headaches, as the inexperienced central pairing of Roman Shirokov and Denis Kolodin were run ragged by Villa and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

Aragones sprang no real surprises in team selection, opting for the recently-ill Iniesta and Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna over Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, and partnering Villa and Torres up front. Whilst Hiddink handed a recall to veteran Sergei Semak, who had not played for the national side for two years, in place of suspended midfield talisman Andrei Arshavin. Hiddink also isolated Roman Pavlyuchenko alone up-front, in place of the injured Pavel Pogrebnyak.

Spain began the game looking sprightly, with Torres and Villa posing immediate problems for the Russian defence with their quick movement and interplay. They each had chances early on, but their shots were easily gathered by Russian keeper Igor Akinfeev.

Russia seemed content to play on the break from the beginning, but with wide players Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Dmitri Sychev struggling to impose themselves, the counter-attacks broke down quickly, and after twenty minutes they found themselves a goal behind after giving away possession cheaply.

Shirokov's loose pass was picked up by impressive Spanish left-back Joan Capdevila, who released Torres through the centre. After getting past Kolodin, he squared the ball to Villa, who needed to simply tap the ball home as Akinfeev had already committed.

The Russian response was swift, however, and after Sychev and right-back Alexander Anyukov combined well down the right, the latter's cross fell to Konstantin Zyrianov, but his low shot cannoned back off the upright and was cleared.

By now, the game was opening up, and almost immediately Torres could've been on the scoresheet at the other end, but his low shot was well saved by Akinfeev.

The greasy pitch made life difficult for the players, with the Russians in particular over-hitting passes as the ball skidded off the turf. But Russia's defensive frailties were evident once again a minute before half time, as Villa secured his brace.

On another swift counter-attack, the scheming Iniesta played a sumptuous through-ball to Villa, who slid the ball under Akinfeev first-time with the Russian defence completely flat-footed.

It was a pivotal goal just before the break, and it seemed to give Spain some sense of security, as their play immediately after the interval was somewhat sloppy, as the Russians enjoyed a good spell of possession.

Hiddink replaced Sychev with the lightning-quick Spartak Moscow winger Vladimir Bystrov, and he had an immediate impact, heading straight at Casillas after a well-worked corner routine. He perhaps should have done better, but the Russians were growing in confidence.

Torres was withdrawn in favour of Fabregas shortly after the interval in a tactical switch, and he nearly killed the game off after once again springing a poor Russian offside trap, but this time Akinfeev raced off his line to clear the danger.

But with a quarter hour to play, Villa completed his hat-trick and effectively killed the game off.

Fabregas played a well-weighted pass to Villa, who once again tormented Shirokov, going one way then the other, before wrong-footing Akinfeev with a near-post finish.

It was a just reward for a tireless performance, and he ran straight to the withdrawn Torres after scoring, in what was surely a sign of their ever-growing confidence in each other.

Once again, however, Spain's defending became casual after the goal, and Russia duly punished them this time from a corner.

A Zyrianov corner was flicked on at the near-post by Shirokov, before being met with a powerful header by Roman Pavlyuchenko, who solely led the Russian line for much of the game.

The Russians nearly gave Spain another fright only minutes later, but Semak, who found too much space, shot weakly at Casillas. Jolted into action by this near-miss, Spain raced down the other end and restored their three-goal advantage.

The industrious Villa led another swift counter before sliding the ball to Xavi. His shot was well blocked by Akinfeev, but Fabregas, who was in an offside position when Xavi took his shot, was on hand to knock in the rebound with a diving header.

It was an accomplished performance from Spain, which now faces Sweden in Innsbruck on Saturday, whilst Russia faces a must-win clash with defending champions Greece in Salzburg.



Ratings

Spain
1 - Casillas (c) - 7 - Will be disappointed to have not kept a clean sheet.
4 - Marchena - 7 - Defended well.
5 - Puyol - 7 - Reliable as always.
6 - Iniesta - 7 - Played some delightful passes.
7 - Villa - 10 - Hat-trick. Worked hard for the full 90 minutes.
8 - Xavi - 8 - Linked up well with Iniesta and Senna, as well as the strikers.
9 - Torres - 8 - Unlucky not to score himself before being substituted early.
11 - Capdevila - 8 - Very impressive.
15 - Sergio Ramos - 6 - Not himself, but neutralised Bilyaletdinov.
19 - Senna - 8 - Turned defence into attack at will.
21 - D. Silva - 8 - Tirelessly worked up and down the left flank.

(SUB) 10 - Fabregas - 7 - Slotted in nicely with Xavi and Senna.
(SUB) 12 - Santi Cazorla - 7 - Lively.
(SUB) 14 - Xabi Alonso - 6 - Little time.

Russia
1 - Akinfeev - 6 - Little he could do about goals. Kept well otherwise.
8 - Kolodin - 5 - Had a nightmare. Couldn't handle Torres or Villa.
11 - Semak - 6 - Was forced to drop too deep. Wasn't creative enough.
14 - Shirokov - 5 - Didn't fare much better than Kolodin.
15 - Bilyaletdinov - 7 - Tried to create, but was largely neutralised.
17 - Zyrianov - 7 - Battled hard for the full 90 minutes.
18 - Zhirkov - 6 - Decent game. Set piece delivery not good enough.
19 - Pavlyuchenko - 7 - Consolation goal. Faced three or four defenders often, but fought hard.
20 - Semshov - 6 - Battled. Lost midfield battle.
21 - Sychev - 6 - Not involved enough.
22 - Anyukov - 7 - Got forward at every opportunity.

(SUB) 6 - Adamov - 6 - Little time.
(SUB) 7 - Torbinsky - 7 - Added some creativity off the bench.
(SUB) 23 - Bystrov - 6 - Only lasted on pitch 25 minutes before being subbed himself.