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Europa League: Samuel Chukwueze grabs assist as Villarreal progresses to the semifinals, but Peter Olayinka was quiet against Arsenal

Samuel Chukwueze shone as Villarreal won on Thursday to progress to the semifinals of the Europa League (Twitter/Villarreal)
Samuel Chukwueze shone as Villarreal won on Thursday to progress to the semifinals of the Europa League (Twitter/Villarreal)
A review of how Nigerian players fared in the Europa League on Thursday night.
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The 2020/2021 Europa League's quarterfinals were concluded on Thursday, April 15, with some Nigerian players in action. 

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This is a review of their performance. 

Chukwueze shines 

Samuel Chukwueze had a lively appearance as Villarreal beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 to seal progress to the semifinals. 

Chukwueze was good in the first half rattling the post with a fierce shot from inside the box and creating Villarreal's opener. 

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He made a fine run inside the opposition box that saw him receive a defence-splitting pass before squaring for Paco Alcacer to finish inside an empty net. 

Chukwueze was initially flagged offside in the build-up, but the goal was allowed to stand following a VAR check.

The Nigeria international had a couple of other good moments in the game and was unlucky not to have scored a goal. 

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He hit the woodwork again with a left-footed shot from the right of the box and in the 80th minute, he forced the Dinamo goalkeeper to a fantastic save. 

Also, in that game, Nigerian forward Believe Atiemwen made an appearance for Dinamo in the 76th minute of the game but could not spur a comeback for his side. 

Olayinka underwhelms against Arsenal 

After getting a 1-1 draw away at Arsenal, Peter Olayinka's Slavia Prague were blown away by the Premier League giants. 

Olayinka did nothing of note in that game as Arsenal's defence shut him out. 

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