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Villarreal progress as Vietto vanquishes Salzburg

FC Salzburg 1-3 Villarreal CF (agg: 2-5)
Argentinian striker Luciano Vietto capped a fine individual display with two goals to eliminate the Austrian champions.

Luciano Vietto struck twice for Villarreal as they triumphed 3-1 against Salzburg
Luciano Vietto struck twice for Villarreal as they triumphed 3-1 against Salzburg ©AFP/Getty Images

Luciano Vietto scores twice to take his tally to five competition goals
Substitute Giovani dos Santos sets up one and scores another
Villarreal come back after trailing to Marco Djuricin's opening goal 
Salzburg suffer first defeat in six European home games this season
Follow Friday's round of 16 draw on UEFA.com, with live streaming from 13.00CET

Villarreal CF thrived on the counter in the UEFA Europa League as two goals from Luciano Vietto and another from Giovani dos Santos put an end to FC Salzburg.

Starting with a 2-1 advantage from their first encounter at El Madrigal, the visitors recovered following Marco Djuricin's fine strike for Salzburg in the 18th minute. Vietto got a head to a free-kick to level matters on the night, and his simple finish on 76 minutes put Villarreal in front, with the Argentinian forward then setting up his side's third for Dos Santos.

There was a hint of fortune about the way the ball fell to Djuricin, Marcel Sabitzer's initial effort having struck Jaume Costa, but there was nothing lucky about the crisp finish which the 22-year-old delivered from the edge of the area.

Vietto had shown some sublime trickery in attack for the Yellow Submarine, and he made amends for missing a presentable headed chance moments earlier when he flicked in Jonathan dos Santos's free-kick on 33 minutes. The game opened up after that, but both sides were restricted to long-range efforts as they pressed for the game's third goal.

It came in the 76th minute as substitute Giovani dos Santos – brother of Jonathan – raced up the pitch before sliding an unselfish pass to Vietto when confronted by Salzburg goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi. Vietto finish into an unguarded net, and then returned the compliment three minutes later, his ball into the box setting up a simple close-range finish for Dos Santos.

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