Former Syracuse Orange soccer player Tajon Buchanan has clearly made a mark for Villarreal this season, as he started in their Champions League loss against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
This start comes after a great season that Buchanan has been having for Villarreal so far this year. So far this season, he has three goals, all of which came in his hat trick earlier in the season against Girona. He’s been an extremely important part of Villarreal’s team this season, starting on the left in most
of their games. He’s been playing extremely well for them all season, as it seems like he’s finally found a home after a rough couple of years.
Unfortunately, the game would not go as well as Villarreal might have hoped, as they lost 1-0 due to a Luiz Junior own goal. A shot from Richalison came in at a difficult angle for Luiz to deal with, and the ball unfortunately slipped out of his hands into his own net. While a late potential handball would add a bit of drama to the mix, the game would end with that being the sole goal, and Villarreal would start their Champions League campaign on the wrong foot.
Buchanan himself was also pretty silent in this one, as he was hooked in the 82nd minute. His difficulty was a reflection of the wider attacking difficulty for Villarreal in this one, as they had 10 shots; however, not one was on target. It was overall more of a defensive game, as besides the mistake by Luiz Junior, Tottenham also had no real attacking threat in this one.
Villarreal, although they lost this one, has overall been having a very solid season so far. They currently sit third in La Liga, with only one loss on the season so far, a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid. They have their next league game against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, before facing the big test: a game against Real Madrid on October 4th.
Club is not the only place where Buchanan has been impressing recently, however, as for Canada, he played a really big role in the two friendlies they played in the recent international break. He helped Canada to two wins, one 3-0 against Romania and one 1-0 against Wales. While he did not score or assist in these matches, he played his role well, helping his national team to these big wins.
Villarreal’s next Champions League test will come against Juventus next Wednesday, October 1st. Then, they play English giants Manchester City on October 21st.
