Villarreal's Danjuma opens La Liga goal account in Atletico Madrid draw

2021-08-29
3 min read

Arnaut Danjuma is off the mark in La Liga after scoring Villarreal's second goal in their 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

After making his debut in the Spanish top-flight last Saturday as an 86th-minute substitute, the 24-year-old who joined on a five-year deal from Bournemouth- started on the bench again at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.

He replaced Pervis Estupinan in the 63rd minute and he went on to score nine minutes later as  the visitors regained their lead.

Atletico Madrid managed the most shots (24) but Manu Trigueros fired Villarreal into the lead in the 52nd minute, after a goalless first-half. It did not take long for the hosts to respond with Luis Suarez converting Angel Correa's assist into the back of the net in the 56th minute.

A few minutes later, Danjuma restored the Yellow Submarine's lead with his maiden strike in the Spanish top-flight but it was not enough to seal maximum points for Unai Emery's side.

At the death of the encounter, Algeria right-back Aissa Mandi turned Saul Niguez's cross to the back of his own net with his head.

The stoppage-time goal denied Villarreal victory and it was their third straight draw in the Spanish top-flight since the start of the season.

They started their league campaign with a goalless draw against Granada followed by another goalless draw against Espanyol before Atletico Madrid held them.

With Villarreal's next league match against Alaves postponed because of the international break, Emery will hope to have recuperating Nigeria winger Samuel Chukwueze available for their Uefa Champions League opening fixture against Atalanta on September 14.

The Yellow Submarine sit 11th in La Liga table with three points from three games while Atletico Madrid are fifth with seven points after the same number of matches.