Europa League: Olayinka, Chukwueze Help Slavia Prague And Villarreal Secure Impressive Results

The first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal matches was played on Thursday night, and two Nigerians featured for their clubs

Peter Olayinka was on the pitch for 85 minutes as Slavia Prague played out a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal match at the Emirates.

The Czech side had already seen off the challenge of Rangers and Leicester City going into the clash against the Gunners.

And they continued their impressive run against British teams as they struck deep into stoppage to take a vital away goal into the second leg next week.

Olayinka, who scored against Rangers in the previous round, could not add to his three Europa League goals but still managed a shot on target in his time on the pitch.

Arsenal dominated possession but struggled to create clear chances. But they should have taken the lead early in the second half when Alexandre Lacazette was through on goal, but he could only hit his strike against the upright.

Nonetheless, Nicolas Pepe came on to open the scoring for Mikel Arteta’s men four minutes from time. It looked like the winner until Tomáš Holeš headed home in the third minute of added time to seal a 1-1 draw for the visitors.

Meanwhile, in Zagreb, Samuel Chukwueze played for 69 minutes as Gerard Moreno’s penalty in the 44th minute secured a 1-0 win for Villarreal over Dinamo Zagreb.

Chukwueze had less impact on the game, with just two successful dribbles and a shot off target. The result, however, put the Yellow Submarines in the driving seat ahead of the return leg in Spain next week.