Samuel Chukwueze’s goal wasn’t pointless despite its timing

The Nigerian missed last year’s Europa League final and had to sit out the opening months of the season as he recovered from an injury that kept him out since the final month of last season. He’s had to watch his teammates claim their first major European trophy, participate in their foremost Super Cup against Chelsea and miss out on the opening two games on their Champions League return.

When he was introduced by Unai Emery with a minute of normal time remaining in Bern, Chukwueze probably didn’t imagine he’d be scoring within three minutes of his Champions League debut.

Having returned in the Yellow Submarine’s 2-1 home defeat at the weekend, Wednesday night elicited dissimilar emotions. The disappointment of defeat in La Liga was replaced by the elation of claiming their first CL win since Manuel Pellegrini guided them to a 2-1 success against Panathinaikos in March 2009.

The team from the province of Castellon endured an extended run of nine games without success in Europe’s esteemed competition until Wednesday put paid to that winless run.

Chukwueze’s goal at the death put some gloss on the final score and the Nigerian was able to celebrate his first strike of the season and a first since an impressive effort against Barcelona before he suffered that unfortunate layoff.

Young Boys went into the clash with a three-game unbeaten run on their turf in the Champions League — including a 2-1 win over Manchester United on the opening match-day — but Villarreal produced a superior performance to prevent the Swiss side from equaling their longest run without a defeat in the European Cup.

Emery was pleased by his team’s performance and praised his players for showing little weakness against a side with peculiar strengths from the flanks.

“We wanted to be competitive and we succeeded. We were coming to Bern to play against a very demanding team, which had beaten Manchester United on this same stage,” the Villarreal boss asserted after the win.

“They are a team with speed on the wings and the ability to put crosses into the box. This team has great tactical wealth and its approaches vary a lot.

“They know how to have the ball, but they also know how to play with their backs to the wall depending on what the game requires. In this regard, we had to be competitive and we found answers to be able to achieve victory.”

Chukwueze’s part in the success wasn’t significant, but on a personal note, it was beyond pleasing to see one of Nigeria’s best talents score on his first appearance in Europe’s biggest competition.

He may have missed the most important game of his career in May through injury, yet, the Super Eagle has every reason to be all smiles after Wednesday night.

Seye Omidiora is a passionate football writer and pundit whose deep appreciation for the beautiful game exceeds the usual. He is currently a columnist for Goal Africa and has previously written for Vital Football UK, IBCity Info and Opera News.

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