Chukwueze Last Nigerian Standing as Villarreal Knockout Juventus
- Chelsea beat Lille to reach Quarter Finals
Samuel Chukwueze was in cloud nine last night as Villarreal stunned Juventus with a 3-0 win to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2009.
The Super Eagles’ winger started from the bench in the 65th minute.
Gerard Moreno, Pau Torres and Arnaut Danjuma all scored in the final quarter as Juventus unravelled in embarrassing fashion.
Unai Emery’s side produced a defiant defensive show for most of the Turin return after the two sides had played out a 1-1 draw in Spain three weeks ago.
Villarreal took a 78th-minute lead when substitute Francis Coquelin tumbled over Daniele Rugani’s outstretched leg.
The penalty was awarded after a VAR review and Moreno, who had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes, just managed to beat Wojciech Szczesny from the spot.
Torres added a second five minutes from time, stabbing in from close range after Serge Aurier had flicked on a corner.
Danjuma sealed victory in stoppage time with a third goal in 14 minutes, sweeping home a second penalty for ‘The Yellow Submarine’ after Matthijs De Ligt had handled.
In the other match of the night, Chelsea maintained their hopes of retaining the Champions League as they beat Lille 2-1 at a lively Stade Pierre-Mauroy to secure a 4-1 aggregate win and reach the quarter-finals.
The Blues took a 2-0 first-leg lead to France but, in a match played amid continued uncertainty over the club’s future, they had to come from behind after a slow start to earn success in the return.
Burak Yilmaz pulled Lille back into the tie with a penalty after Jorginho handled, only for Christian Pulisic to reply in first-half injury time.
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta then put the last-16 encounter beyond the French champions when he finished at the back post with 19 minutes remaining.
Thomas Tuchel’s side will find out their last-eight opponents in Friday’s draw.
