The Nigeria international was on the scoresheet as the Yellow Submarines followed their midweek loss at Anfield with another disappointing result at the Estadio Mendizorroza
Samuel Chukwueze scored his side’s only goal as Villarreal suffered a demoralising 2-1 defeat at Deportivo Alaves on Saturday.
Unai Emery’s men were looking to pick themselves up from their midweek loss to Liverpool in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal clash. Chukwueze and his teammates were completely outclassed at Anfield in a convincing 2-0 defeat.
Any hopes of preparing for the second leg with a morale-boosting win at the Estadio Mendizorroza was, however, extinguished within the opening half-hour as Alaves ran into a two-goal lead.
Chukwueze halved the deficit shortly after the halftime break with his third La Liga goal of the season.
The visitors could not muster an equaliser despite bossing the ball possession and creating the better scoring chances of the two teams.
Chukwueze and teammates will need to find motivation elsewhere ahead of the visit of Liverpool to the Estadio de la Ceramica, with the Spaniards needing to win by three clear goals to advance past the Reds to the Champions League final.
