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

Chukwueze was brilliant on his night, but a second-half capitulation from the Yellow Submarine allowed Real Madrid to claim the win

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.