Chukwueze helps Villarreal extend winning run against Azeez’s Granada

Samuel Chukwueze helped Villarreal chinch a 1-0 victory against Ramon Azeez’s Granada in Friday’s La Liga game at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.

The Yellow Submarine have won all their games since the Spanish top-flight resumed after its suspension due to the coronavirus outbreak in Spain and across the world.

Villarreal started with a 1-0 win against Celta Vigo at Abanca-Balaidos before recording the same scoreline against Mallorca on Tuesday, with Chukwueze playing a key role in the outings.

Against Granada, the Nigeria international started from the bench along with his compatriot Azeez, who plies his trade for the Nazaries.

The Yellow Submarine hit the ground running with Gerard Moreno opening the scoring as early as the 11th-minute after he was set up by Ruben Pena, which proved to be the decisive goal in the encounter.

In an effort to ensure his side secures a comfortable lead, manager Javier Calleja brought on Chukwueze for Javier Ontiveros in the 65th minute.

The Super Eagles winger had a 67% successful pass rate, won one aerial contest in the encounter and made one tackle in an effort to help his side maintain their lead.

He was, however, shown a yellow card after he tackled his compatriot Azeez, who was introduced in the 61st-minute, from behind.

Azeez, on the other hand, had a 77% successful pass rate in the game and had two shots, with one hitting the target, but his effort was not enough to help his side avoid defeat at home.

With the result, Villarreal are seventh on the league table with 47 points from 30 games while Granada are ninth with 42 points from the same number of matches.

While Chukwueze will hope to help his side continue their winning form when they face Sevilla, Azeez will look forward to playing a key role as Granada aim to bounce back against Leganes, who will be expected to parade two Super Eagles stars in Kenneth Omeruo and Awaziem Chidozie on June 22.

Chukwueze has been a key member of the Nigeria national team since making his debut for the West Africans in 2019.

The forward, who has 13 caps for the Super Eagles, was part of Gernot Rohr’s team that finished third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Azeez, meanwhile, only recently returned to the national team after a five-year absence and has six caps for the side.

The duo will hope to keep on with their consistent performances in the Spanish top-flight in order to continue playing key roles for the Super Eagles.