The Super Eagle was in inspired form as the Yellow Submarine managed to get a healthy first-leg win at home
Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze provided an assist as Villarreal claimed a comfortable 4-2 win against Croatian outfit Hajduk Split in the preliminary round of the Europa Conference League played on Thursday night at Ciudad Stadium in Valencia.
In the aforementioned match, the Yellow Submarine star was to play against his national team teammate Chidozie Awaziem.
Chukwueze made the first attempt of the match after two minutes, bending the ball from the edge of the box but narrowly missed the target with the goalkeeper well beaten.
Moments later, the visitors had a chance of their one when Marko Livaja passed the ball to Stipe Biuk who had all the time to guide the ball home and unsettle their hosts with the opener..
After a quarter of an hour, Unai Emery’s side managed to get the equaliser. Pedraza Alfonso picked out Jose Luis Morales in a good position and he danced past several defenders and unleashed a fierce strike that was deflected past the keeper and into the net.
Four minutes later, it was 2-1 in favour of Villarreal. Dino Mikanovic committed a foul and Marko Livaja was unfortunate to guide the ball past his own goalkeeper following the set piece, to give the home team the advantage.
In the 34th minute, Chukwueze spotted Morales in a good position and lofted the ball to him, but the Spaniard headed the ball wide.
Two minutes later, the Super Eagle got his assist when he once again passed the ball to Morales, who got past several defenders before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner to get the third goal for Villareal.
The 35-year-old was a handful for the visiting defenders and it was not a surprise when, on the stroke of half-time, he assisted Gerard Moreno for the fourth.
Awaziem was getting frustrated in Spain and in the 73rd minute, he was cautioned by referee Aleksei Kulbakov after his blatant foul.
With 15 minutes to go, Chukwueze found space outside the 18-yard-area and took a shot, but Lovre Kalinic in the Hajduk goal made a save.
Aissa Mandi conceded a penalty in the 85th minute, and Marco Fossati stepped up and managed to beat Pepe Reina to ensure the game ended 4-2.
(goal.com)