MADRID: Villarreal’s star striker Gerard Moreno could miss the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Liverpool after he scored and then went off injured in a 2-1 win over Getafe on Saturday. Moreno scored one goal and then made another against Getafe before being substituted in the second half, with a reported injury to his right hamstring. The 30-year-old will undergo tests on Sunday to diagnose the extent of the problem. Villarreal have 10 days before they play the first leg against Liverpool at Anfield. Moreno has endured a difficult year with injuries, having already suffered problems in October and February, when he was out for just over a month each time.
“We are going to see how serious it is, but it has been a bad year for him,” said Villarreal coach Unai Emery after the game. “It’s been frustrating for everyone, let’s see how he is.” After knocking Bayern Munich out in the Champions League quarter-finals with a surprise 1-1 draw in Munich on Tuesday, Villarreal claimed victory against a Getafe side trying to secure survival in Spain’s top flight. Despite their Champions League heroics, Emery’s team are adrift of the European qualification places, with this win taking them six points behind Real Sociedad in sixth. Villarreal took the lead in the seventh minute through Moreno after Manu Trigueros’ long ball over the top found Paco Alcacer, who passed across for Moreno to send a deflected finish in. Nine minutes later, the visitors doubled their advantage after this time Moreno slipped in Trigueros, who guided a smart finish into the far corner. Enes Unal pulled one back for Getafe shortly after the hour mark and Unal wanted a penalty late on after a clumsy challenge from Aissa Mandi. Villarreal, though, survived to leave Getafe 15th, four points above the bottom three. Valencia had earlier suffered their first defeat in eight games at home to Osasuna, whose 2-1 win at Mestalla sees them leapfrog their opponents into ninth.