Unai Emery criticises Super Eagles star Samuel Chukwueze after Villarreal's loss to Betis

Villarreal manager Unai Emery is aware of Samuel Chukwueze's quality but says the Nigerian international needs to do more defensively. 

Emery said this following Villarreal's 1-0 loss to Real Betis in their La Liga clash on Sunday evening.

Chukwueze came on in the second half of the encounter but could not help the Yellow Submarines avoid a defeat. 

The Nigerian, however, showed flashes of brilliance in the attacking third, making one key pass and completing four successful dribbles despite playing for just 36 minutes of the encounter. 

However, despite his brilliant display in the final third, Emery was not satisfied with Chukwueze's performance. The former Arsenal manager praised Chukwueze's quality but said he could have done more defensively. 

 Emery said: "He [Chukwueze] has quality, and we are working on improving his defensive performance.

"He has lacked the two meters necessary to defend from post to post," Emery added. 

Chukwueze did win seven duels in the clash but also lost possession the same number of times. The 22-year-old has played five times for Villarreal in the league this season, but he has appeared as a substitute in all of the games. 

However, he has two goals in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Chukwueze will hope to impress Emery in Villarreal's next game. The Yellow Submarines face Hapoel Beer Sheva in their next UECL game after beating Lech Poznan in the group opener.