sport news Villarreal 2-2 : Former Arsenal midfielder Cazorla scores twice to ...

Villarreal 2-2 Real Madrid: Former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla scores twice to deny Santiago Solari's men as injured Gareth Bale is subbed for 15th time this season  

By Pete Jenson for MailOnline

Published: 22:40 GMT, 3 January 2019 | Updated: 22:40 GMT, 3 January 2019

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Santi Cazorla went home to Villarreal for nights like these. The former Arsenal midfielder helped his team earn a point against recently crowned World Club Champions Real Madrid.

Cazorla was robbed of 668 days of football because of a horror ankle injury in his last two seasons at Arsenal and has struggled at times back in La Liga but this was his night.

He scored the first goal of La Liga in 2019 and when his team conspired to lose the lead he nodded in the late leveller – the first headed goal in Spain of his career.

Beaming after the brace he admitted: 'We wanted the win but we were up against the best team in the world right now so we will take a point.

'I scored one goal with my head and England but I had never managed it in Spain. It's my best night so far since I've come back, scoring two goals against Real Madrid. I feel better and better with every game and with less pain. I just want to keep working and keep improving.'

Cazorla got the first goal of the game after just four minutes. It was made by Samuel Chukwueze who had dominated the opening exchanges.

The 19-year-old Nigerian has a buy-out clause of 40m euros – he has made that look dangerously low in his first season in the Villarreal first team – and he gave Marcelo a torrid time from

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