Chukwueze lively in Villarreal's draw against Real Betis

Villarreal player in action

LALIGA Chukwueze lively in Villarreal's draw against Real Betis

Faruq Ibrahim 20:34 - 12.03.2023

Real Betis and Villarreal share spoils in their European places six-pointer.

Villarreal enjoyed more of the possession, but Real Betis were more direct and fashioned the better chances; however, both teams settled for a 1-1 draw in a pulsating encounter.  

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Sixth-place Villarreal hosted 5th-place Real Betis at the Estadio de La Ceramica in a bid to defeat a close rival and move closer to their top-four ambitions, but there was no victor as none was vanquished.

Borja Iglesias put the visitors ahead in the 38th minute of the game, but Villarreal got an equaliser thanks to a Yeremy Pino strike in the 55th minute. 

The draw meant both teams maintained their place in the table going into the game and have failed to capitalise on Real Sociedad's slip-up earlier in the day. 

How it happened 

Villarreal started the better side, but Real Betis played their way into the game and the tie became more end-to-end.

In a spell of dominance in the first-half, Villarreal grabbed the opener when Borja Iglesias pounced on an error by Pepe Reina.

Borja Iglesias fired Real Betis ahead
Borja Iglesias fired Real Betis ahead

Betis pushed to double their lead but could not manage it before Villarreal regained their footing. 

The second-half started with Villarreal playing with purpose, buoyed by their ever-lively home support. 

Their efforts were rewarded when youngster Ramon Terrats played a chipped pass over Betis' defence for Pino to run into, who sidefooted it into the right-hand corner.  

There was a lengthy VAR check to determine if Pino had been offside, but the goal stood, as German Pezzella's foot played him on to send the Madrigal into a ruckus. 

Both managers made changes to try to affect the game in their team's favour, but the game maintained a similar tone but with no more goals.

Chukwueze's game by numbers 

The Nigerian winger had a lively game on the right side of Villarreal's attack, generating danger constantly.

Chukwueze has been on stellar form for Villarreal since the arrival of Quique Setien
Chukwueze has been on stellar form for Villarreal since the arrival of Quique Setien

The 23-year-old was on the pitch for the entire duration of the encounter, and he created three scoring chances for his teammates.

He maintained an 80% pass completion rate, with 20 of his 25 attempted passes reaching their destinations, while completing four of eight attempted dribbles.

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