Gerard scored a second-half equaliser to earn Villarreal a point in their 1-1 draw with Eibar this evening in their La Liga match.
Eibar began the game well and put the visitors under pressure as Borja Ekiza forced a save from Sergio Asenjo, which the keeper stopped with ease.
The home side took the lead in the ninth minute as Mikel Arruabarrena fired the ball past Asenjo after Villarreal had failed to clear their lines from a set piece from Raul Albentosa.
Arruabarrena almost doubled his tally for the game and his side when he latched on to Saul's cross from the left, but his headed effort went just wide of the post.
Denis Cheryshev tried to get his side back into the game as he picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and fired a shot at goal, which lacked direction and missed the target.
Villarreal upped the ante in the second half and Javier Espinosa and Mario combined to see the former fire a vicious effort at goal, which was well saved by Xabi.
The visitors went close again as Cheryshev fired another strike at goal from distance that whistled past the post after being teed up by Jonathan dos Santos.
Villarreal got themselves level when Gerard collected the ball inside the area and drilled a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Both sides pressed late for a winner but were unable to find another goal, as they settled for a point apiece.
Simon Sinclair
