Nicolas Jackson assists as Chukwueze's Villarreal stroll past Elche

Nicolas Jackson contributed an assist as Villarreal silenced Elche 4-0 in Sunday’s Spanish elite division outing.

With Gerard Moreno giving the Yellow Submarine a 26th-minute lead, the former Senegal youth international set up Giovani Lo Celso for the hosts’ second strike nine minutes later.

Still fresh from their lacklustre 0-0 draw at Getafe, Unai Emery’s men hit the Green-striped Ones for four to maintain their unbeaten start in the 2022-23 campaign.

Although the former Uefa Europa Cup winners are yet to concede a goal – a stat which shows their strength defensively.

Although the visitors started on a bright note, they left Estadio de la Ceramica empty-handed with Francis Coquelin, and Jose Luis Morales completing the rout.

Jackson was replaced by Luis Morales at the beginning of the second 45 minutes against Francisco’s side.

Villarreal continued to dominate immediately after half-time, but they missed numerous scoring opportunities. Credit must also be given to goalkeeper Edgar Badia for making crucial saves.

Elche also enjoyed a brief spell of ball possession, yet they were unable to trouble Geronimo Rulli as they ended the game without a shot on target.

Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze was introduced for Yeremi Pino in the 65th minute, while Algeria international Aissa Mandi came in for Kiko Femenia with 11 minutes left on the clock.

For Chukwueze’s contribution, he accounted for one shot, one dribble, 12 touches, and six passes with a passing accuracy of 50. Also, he was dispossessed once.

Jackson amassed one shot on target, one key pass, 20 touches, one dribble, seven passes and a passing accuracy of 85.7 per cent.

In addition, he was dispossessed once and fouled once with one tackle and three fouls to his credit.  

This result takes Emery’s men to third position in the table as they continue their push for the La Liga diadem.

Unbeaten in their last 15 matches in all competitions, they are guests of Real Betis on September 11. Before that showdown against Umar Sadiq’s side, the Submarine face Lech Poznan in a Uefa Europa Conference League encounter.

For Elche, they occupy the 19th position with just one point. Next up for them is a home encounter versus Athletic Bilbao where they eye their first win of the ongoing campaign.