Villarreal see off Lech Poznan in chaotic Conference League opener

Villarreal edged Lech Poznan in a chaotic Europa Conference League opener on Thursday night.

The Yellows put out a weakened side for their first European clash of the season, with Unai Emery clearly prioritising La Liga this season.

And the changes showed early on, with Poznan taking the lead through Michal Skoras within two minutes.

Not an idea start for goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who made a rare start here.

It took some time for Villarreal to get going at the Ciuitat de Valencia, but when they struck gold through Samu Chukwueze, they went on something of a rampage.

Alex Baena added two, with both goals coming in the space of four minutes, and Villarreal went from one down to two up within eight minutes of the equaliser.

Photo by Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Things took another turn after the break when Ishak scored within a minute of the restart, and he scored again just after the hour mark to level the score.

Emery then brought on senior figures like Kiko Femenia, Gerard Moreno, Yeremi Pino, Dani Parejo and the now trusted Nicolas Jackson, all within the first 20 minutes of the second half.

And the changes eventually paid off, with Francis Coquelin finding the winner one minute before the 90’.

A rather chaotic outing, but it’s three points nonetheless for Villarreal to kick off the Conference League campaign.

And crucially, it continues an unbeaten start to the season for Emery’s men.