In-form Super Eagles striker, Ikechukwu Uche, on Saturday denied Cordoba their first win of the season, as he shot Villarreal to victory over the hosts in a La Liga tie.
The pint-size forward right footed a shot from a difficult angle on the left to the top left corner, following an assist from Jonathan dos Santos’ cross.
Uche scored the goal just seven minutes after coming on in relief for Gerard Moreno.
However, Cordoba got off to an early start, with Fede getting the first shot of the evening off in the opening minutes and continue to test the Villarreal defense for the first 20 minutes.
Villarreal then regained control with Denis Cheryshev giving a scare, followed by another response from Fede, but it would be Luciano Vietto who would get the first strike of the evening in the 24th minute, thanks to a Cheryshev assist.
However, Córdoba refused to give up without a fight and a shot from outside the box by Fidel forced an amazing block by Sergio Asenjo, while Abel followed is up with another shot from outside to round out the half.
Following the break, Villarreal continued to maintain their lead and control of the game while desperation set in for Cordoba.
Ghilas had a brilliant chance to rescue a draw in the 61st minute but was denied, which would be the last clear chance Cordoba had of coming away with points.
Fede Cartabia tried to find any opening throughout the entire match, but his tireless efforts were wasted as Villarreal continued to keep their foot on the gas and refused to allow Cordoba a chance to earn a point.