Chukwueze breaks Real Madrid jinx in style as Villarreal stun Ancelotti’s men

The winger had gone seven times without netting at the expense of Los Blancos in the Spanish topflight, but he was finally on target

 

Samuel Chukwueze has his own reasons to celebrate in Villarreal’s fixture at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu as he finally broke his La Liga scoring drought against Real Madrid.

The Nigeria international found the net twice as Quique Setien recorded a 3-2 comeback victory on Saturday night.

The 23-year-old, is one of the Yellow Submarine’s key players, but until this fixture none of his 19 goals Spanish elite division goals had been at the expense of Los Blancos.

The hoodoo was ended, however, after seven matches of failed attempts as he levelled matters for the visitors as he beat Thibaut Courtois from close range in the 39th minute – profiting from a shambolic defending by the hosts.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team had taken a 19th minute lead after Pau Torres deflected the ball into his own net.

Three minutes into the second-half, Madrid took the lead after Vinicius Junior put the ball past goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Despite looking dead and buried, Setien’s side continued to attack in numbers. That paid off with twenty minutes left on the clock when Jose Luis Morales restored parity.

With the goal-laden cracker looking to end on a no winner, no vanquished note, Chukwueze completed his double in the 80th minute by drilling arrowing into the top corner of Courtois from 25 yards.

In the process, the African became the second Villarreal player to score a brace in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid, after Diego Forlan in May 2006.

VAR came to the rescue of the 2021 Europa League winners in the closing stages when Aissa Mandi was eventually adjudged not to have handled in his own box after the referee had awarded a penalty to Real Madrid.

Man-of-the-match Chukwueze was substituted for Kiko in the 91st minute while he was treated to an ovation by the visitors’ fans.

The Super Eagle brought his La Liga tally to 21 goals with the strike, a mark he has reached in just 145 games.

With six goals in the 2022-23 league season alone, the Nigerian has been one of the main reasons Villarreal is eyeing a place in the Champions League next season.