African MVP of the weekend: Samuel Chukwueze, the Super Eagle who silenced Real Madrid

Saturday 08 April 2023, matchday 28 in La Liga, Real Madrid vs Villarreal. In the 39th minute, Samuel Chukwueze picks up a pass from Lo Celso. The Nigerian then produces a memorable goal: a double touch with his left foot to beat Nnacho, who is left twisting helplessly in the process, then a clean strike that wrong-foots Thibault Courtois, one goal each. Then, in the 80th minute, Chukwueze, this time set up by Alex Baena, conjures up a goal only he could score. The 23-year-old gets the better of Nacho again, who is clearly having a bad night, before curling an exceptional left-footed finish past Courtois once more. The Belgian goalkeeper stretched his two metres to the full, to no avail. The goal gives Villarreal a superb 3-2 win at the Santiago Bernabeu and consolidates their 5th place (47 pts), 4 points off a Champions League spot. What's more, the left-footed Nigerian becomes the first Villarreal player to score a brace at Real Madrid's ground since Diego Forlan in 2006, no less.

✅Villarreal CF surprise Real Madrid and win at the Santiago Bernabéu thanks to Samuel Chukwueze.

Match highlights #RealMadridVillarreal 2-3📺#LaLigaSantander #LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/fzXK5AIxZp

— LALIGA (@LaLigaFRA) April 8, 2023

Record efficiency

So it is only logical that Samuel Chukwueze was the talk of the town after this game. Even so, it is merely part of a pattern: the Nigerian's rise. While some of his team-mates run, he flies. With these two goals against Real, he now has 6 league goals in La Liga. More importantly, he now has 13 goals in all competitions, along with 11 assists, in 40 appearances. Until now, his best tally of goals in a season was 9 (2017-2018) and his best for assists was 7 (in 2020-2021). It is fair to say the Umuahia-born player, from Nigeria, has stepped up a level this season.

Read also: African MVP of the weekend: Franck Kessié hands Barça the title?

Understandably, his coach Quique Setién had nothing but kind words for Samuel Chukwueze. "He played an extraordinary game. (...) He scored exceptional goals. Maybe even some Real fans congratulated him. These are moves you love to see on any football pitch. It is for players like this that buying a ticket is worth it".

Big expectations in Nigeria

Now that he has taken off at club level, the Super Eagle needs to shine on the international stage. Samuel Chukwueze, an international since November 2018, has played 24 times for Nigeria. He has scored 4 goals. Regarded as a top prospect for several years, his breakthrough was long awaited. And given his current form, there is no doubt the Super Eagles have a major asset for their future challenges, starting with the 2023 AFCON next January.

What's more, for Samuel Chukwueze the advantage is that he will not be the only one carrying the pressure of expectation in Nigeria. The Super Eagles have Moses Simon, Terem Moffi and, of course, Victor Osimhen in their ranks.