Super Eagles sensation, Samuel Chukwueze, put on arguably his best performance of the season as he scored twice to help Villarreal secure an emphatic 3-2 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu to boost the Yellow Submarine Champions League hope.

Real Madrid took the lead in the 16th minute thanks to an own goal by Pau Torres before the Chukwueze skillfully eliminated Nacho Fernandez and comfortably placed the ball past Thibaut Courtois to equalise for Villarreal six minutes before halftime.

Three minutes into the second half, Vinicius Junior put the Los Blancos ahead for the second time in the encounter after going past Aissa Mandi and Chukwueze, who could not stop the Brazilian as he went clear on goal. 

However, in the 70th minute, Jose Morales brought Villarreal right back into the match. The Spanish international wasted no time to fire the ball from a smooth play by Chukwueze to give his team a confident booster inside Real Madrid’s backyard.

Then ten minutes later, the decisive moment of the match occurred when Chukwueze curled the ball from the right side of the pitch past Courtois who stretched but could not reach the effort of the Nigeria international as the ball made its way into the top corner of the net to seal the stunning victory for Villarreal.

Chukwueze was rewarded with the Man of the Match award in a special moment which the rumoured Arsenal summer transfer target said he is “proud of” and “he has always waited for”.

With the win, Villareal moved to fifth on the La Liga standings with 47 points and just four points behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad as they keep the hope of Champions League qualification alive while the result further dents Real Madrid’s race for the league title.

The Los Blancos are now 12 points adrift of league-leaders, Barcelona, who still have one game in hand.