Super Eagles forward Ikechukwu Uche, was the hero yesterday for his Spanish side, Villarreal, when he scored a hat-trick against Rayo Vallecano in the 5-2 victory recorded at the Estadio del Rayo Vallecano.

The striker, who was part of the 2013 African Nations Cup winning Super Eagles got the first goal of the night in the tenth minute of the encounter.

He grabbed his second goal, which was his team’s fourth of the night in the 58^th minute while the third goal was scored in the 64^th minutes to put the game beyond the reach of the host whose deficit were reduced by Nery Castillo’s brace.

The victory means the visitors displace Sevilla to clinch the sixth spot on the log with 31 points while Vallecano sit second from bottom of the table with just 13 points from 18 league fixtures.