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Chukwueze stars as Villarreal defeat Almeria
Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze assisted both goals as Villarreal made it two wins in a row in LaLiga with a 2-0 victory over Almeria.
Chukwueze assisted Gerard Moreno’s goal after 76 minutes before assisting Jose Luis Morales in extra time to help Villarreal to an important win.
How it happened
Villarreal only recently snapped their run of four losses in a row against Getafe and came into the game hoping to start a new positive run with two wins in a row for the first time since the start of January.
Despite the visitors’ intentions, it was the hosts who took the initiative and nearly took the lead after only five minutes, as Léo Baptistao narrowly fired wide.
That was the only effort that Almeria managed in the first half as Villarreal heaped pressure on their hosts, and finished the first half with 76% possession.
Despite dominating the ball and creating better chances than their opponents, Villarreal were unable to find the opener in the first 45 minutes, largely thanks to their own profligacy as they threw away three clear-cut chances to take the lead in the opening half.
The second half was similar to the first, in that Villarreal controlled possession and created better chances than Almeria and it looked like they would never be able to make these chances count after Yeremy Pino missed the best chance of the game, but they soon found their scoring boots again with the introduction of Gerard Moreno after 69 minutes.
Seven minutes after his introduction, Moreno found the back of the net, profiting from a Chukwueze assist to rifle the ball into the net to make it 1-0 to Villarreal.
After finally opening the scoring, Villarreal sat back and allowed Almeria to attack, but this left space for the Yellow submarine to exploit on the counter, and they took advantage when Molina, assisted by Chukwueze, finished off a fine move to put the result beyond doubt two minutes from time.
Villarreal back in the hunt for Europe
The win left Villarreal within three points of Real Betis in 5th and within seven points of Real Sociedad in third as they continue their hunt for a place in one of the continental tournaments next season.
Despite a shaky start to the season, Villareal have fought to get their best form back, and might even make the UEFA Champions League if things go well for them.
Man of the match
None other than Super Eagles’ winger Samuel Chukwueze, who came up clutch for Villarreal with two assists to help them to victory.
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