Villarreal 2-3 Real Madrid- Los Blancos stand tall despite Chukwueze incursion

Super Eagles forward Samuel Chukwueze scored for Villarreal but his effort was insufficient, as Real Madrid came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory in their Copa Del Rey round of 16 game.

Villarreal welcomed Real Madrid to the Estadio de la Ceramica in the Copa Del Rey quarterfinal fixture.

Having claimed a 2-1 victory over Los Blancos on the same ground twelve days ago, Villarreal fancied their chances going into the tie.

The yellow Submarine got a dream start, as they went into the lead after just four minutes. Etienne Capoue got on the end of a pass from Gerard Moreno and struck a wicked shot past Thibaut Courtois to make it 1-0.

Villarreal were the better side. They pressed Real Madrid hard and gave them little breathing space. Chukwueze was a handful for the defense. Fleet-footed, he gave Rudiger a tough time defending against him.

Chukwueze soon got the reward for his efforts. He received a killer pass from Moreno which put him one-on-one with Courtois, and he showed great composure to place a calm finish behind the Real Madrid goalkeeper and give Villarreal a two-goal lead heading into the break.

However, Villarreal fell like a pack of cards in the second half. Vinicius Junior started the comeback for Los Blancos. Then goals from Eder Militao and Dani Ceballos completed the 3-2 comeback for the Spanish champions.

Despite Villareal’s loss, Chukwueze had a great showing. He played the entire game. Asides from his goal, the Super Eagles forward registered three successful dribbles, 51 touches, two clearances, and two interceptions.