Samuel Chukwueze has ended his 17-game goal drought in La Liga with a brace in Villarreal's 5-1 hammering of Levante on Sunday.
It was the first time the Nigeria international scored a goal since December 3, when he found the back of the net against Sivasspor in the Uefa Europa League and against Real Valladolid in a league match on November 2.
Chukwueze stretched the visitors' lead at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia in the 63rd minute to make it 3-1 after Gerard Moreno's first-half strike and Postigo's own goal in the ninth minute.
Nine minutes after his first goal of the night, Levante conceded another own goal through Ruben Vezo and Chukwueze wrapped up Villarreal's emphatic away victory with his second in the 75th minute.
Special dedication for @chukwueze_8! 🙏#LaLigaFanCam | #LevanteVillarreal pic.twitter.com/Nzq9zbJs9T
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) April 18, 2021
Sunday's goals came as a relief for the 21-year-old who struck the post twice in the Yellow Submarine's Uefa Europa League victory over Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday, where he only got an assist.
Chukwueze was later replaced in the 81st minute by Yeremi Pino, however, he has a tally of three goals and two assists after 25 La Liga games this season.
He has equalled last season’s feat of three league goals and he is two goals from matching his best goalscoring return in the Spanish top-flight, when he scored five goals in 26 games in the 2018-19 campaign.
The victory shot Unai Emery's men to fifth on La Liga standings with 49 points after 31 games, but they are 15 points behind fourth-placed Sevilla with seven games remaining.
“We’re fifth, but the fight with Real Betis and Real Sociedad will be very tight and they are going to make it very difficult for us. We’ve won two matches in a row and we want to continue this form against Deportivo Alaves," Emery told the club website.
The Super Eagles winger will be expected to help Villarreal build on their win when they visit Deportivo Alaves for their next league game on Wednesday before they battle Barcelona at the Estadio de la Ceramica on April 25.