Villarreal, who have been tipped to finish in the top four positions, were held to a 1-1 draw by SD Huesca in the opening round of the new La Liga season at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday evening.
Coached by ex-Arsenal manager Unai Emery, the Yellow Submarine earned a share of the spoils thanks to Gerard Moreno who brought his team level when he converted a spot kick midway through the second half, after Pablo Maffeo gave the visitors the lead just before half time.
Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze put in a ninety-minute shift for the home team, his good pal Kelechi Nwakali came on in the 62nd minute and a third Nigerian in Kevin Omoruyi was a non-playing substitute for SD Huesca.
SD Huesca coach Míchel hailed his players after the game for keeping Chukwueze quiet and former Barcelona midfielder Andrea Orlandi agreed with his comments, saying the La Liga newcomers nullified the threat of the number 11.
In his post-match analysis on La Liga TV, Orlandi stated :"When Gerard Moreno had the ball something was always going to happen but apart from that Samuel Chukwueze, on the right, they were always doubling up on him.
"I thought that Galan had a fantastic game, Ferreiro helped him a lot so when the Nigerian had the ball, 1 v 1 situation it wasn't the case, it was always one against two so he was kind of isolated."
"I thought that Galan had a fantastic game, Ferreiro helped him a lot so when the Nigerian had the ball, 1 v 1 situation it wasn't the case, it was always one against two so he was kind of isolated."
Up next for Chukwueze and his Villarreal teammates, they face SD Eibar at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Sunday.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com
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