Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze was on hand to help Villarreal secure a convincing victory over Rayo Vallecano as the Yellow Submarines moved closer to securing a spot in next season's UEFA Europa League.
Villarreal racked up a 5-1 win over Vallecano at the Estadio de Vallecas courtesy of a brace and an assist from left-back Alfonso Pedraza.
Chukwueze also played from start to finish against Vallecano but the Nigerian international could not add to his goal tally of seven (7) on the night.
Chukwueze quiet but Villarreal shine against Rayo Vallecano
Chukwueze hit the 25-league game appearance milestone in the match against Rayo Vallecano and marked the occasion by making it to manager Unai Emery's starting XI of the day.
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The 22-year-old Super Eagles star was starting only his 11th league game of the season and he tried to impress against 12th-placed Vallecano.
Despite Villarreal's dominance, Chukwueze had a pretty quiet evening at the Estadio de Vallecas as he could only pony up one shot off-target in the entire 90 minutes.
Not much worked out for Chukwueze in this match as all three (3) of his attempted dribbles did not go through, he lost five (5) of the six (6) duels he contested, and he had just one (1) of his six (6) crosses or long balls reach its intended target.
The Nigerian international has now gone three (3) matches without a goal or an assist since he scored against Alaves in a 2-1 defeat on April 30.
Villarreal chase Real Sociedad for Europa League ticket
Since losing to Alaves, Villarreal have picked up a draw against Sevilla and now a big 5-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano as the Emery-led side continue to push for a place in the competition.
Villarreal remain seventh (7th) on the La Liga log with 56 points from 36 rounds of matches. They are just three (3) points behind Real Sociedad who occupy the last Europa League spot in 6th.
The Yellow Submarines and Real Sociedad will go head-to-head for the 6th spot when they both meet on Matchday 37 on Sunday, May 15 at the Estadio de la Ceramica for a straight shot at securing their Europa League spot for next season.
After this, Villarreal still need to defeat in-form Barcelona on the final matchday while Real Sociedad also face a tough test as they welcome Atletico Madrid for their final league game of the season.