Villarreal pulled off one other stunning Champions League end result, this time towards sixth-time champion Bayern Munich to spice up its hopes of returning to the semifinals for the primary time in 16 years.
After making it previous the group stage and eliminating Juventus within the spherical of 16, the modest Spanish membership took an enormous step towards reaching the final 4 by holding on to a 1-0 victory towards favourite Bayern within the first leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
GRACIAS, EQUIPO.
GRACIAS, AFICIÓN.
GRACIAS, VILLARREAL.
Habéis vuelto a convertir esta noche en un recuerdo inolvidable.
Y van ya…#UCL pic.twitter.com/wKq9qZ5u1z
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 6, 2022
Arnaut Danjuma’s aim early within the first half was sufficient for Villarreal on the La Ceramica Stadium, with Bayern unable to get previous the stable protection of Unai Emery’s squad and dropping just for the second time in 30 Champions League matches.
Bayern was unbeaten in its final 22 away video games within the Champions League, with 17 wins and 5 attracts in a file run that had began after a loss in 2017 to a Paris Saint-Germain staff coached by Emery.
The Germans struggled all through the match on Wednesday and had been glad to depart just one aim down.
“We’ll take the 1-0 result,” veteran Thomas Muller stated. “We know that things could have been a lot worse. We have to pay a lot of respects to our opponents. Now we need to pick ourselves back up for the return leg and hit back.”
El ambiente en el Estadio de la Cerámica ha sido 𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗥 💛.
✔ Recibimiento multitudinario
✔ Llenazo hasta la bandera
✔ Himno a capela
✔ Llevar en volandas al equipo
✔ Celebración de un triunfo histórico
¡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗦!#UCL
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 6, 2022
The second leg is subsequent week in Munich, the place Villarreal will want a draw to get to the semifinals for the primary time since its first last-four look within the Champions League in 2006. Villarreal surprised Juventus 3-0 in Italy after a 1-1 draw at residence within the final 16.
In the opposite quarterfinal Wednesday, defending champion Chelsea misplaced 3-1 to Real Madrid within the first leg in London.
“We deserved to lose. We weren’t good today,” Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann stated. “In the first half, we lacked power in defense and had too few chances. The second half was a completely wild game. We gave up control because we were desperate to score, but we could have conceded two more.”
Villarreal appeared in management from the beginning and Bayern struggled to create important scoring possibilities. The hosts threatened essentially the most and had some good possibilities so as to add to its lead.
“There was talk about them being favorites and wanting to seal their place in the semifinals tonight, but we came out very hungry, very humble,” Villarreal midfielder Giovani Lo Celso stated. “There’s no doubt they are one of the best teams in the world, but we managed the game well and could have scored even more goals.”
Danjuma opened the scoring within the eighth minute by redirecting a close-range shot by Dani Parejo because the Bayern protection was caught off guard. It was Danjuma’s sixth aim in 9 Champions League appearances this season, and seventh in 11 profession video games within the competitors.
Villarreal thought it had doubled the lead within the forty first however Francis Coquelin’s aim from a troublesome angle was disallowed for offside.
Striker Gerard Moreno twice had alternatives so as to add to Villarreal’s lead after that. First with a low shot from exterior the world that hit the submit within the 53rd, and 10 minutes later after intercepting a foul go by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer close to midfield and lacking his long-range shot into the open web. The ball ended up curling an excessive amount of as Neuer desperately tried to run again into place.
Bayern elevated the strain close to the top however once more it was Villarreal that almost added to the lead when substitute Alfonso Pedraza missed from shut vary on a counterattack within the 87th.
Villarreal did job containing Robert Lewandowski all through the match and he had few alternatives inside the world. He entered the match because the Champions League’s main scorer with 12 objectives from eight matches and had scored seven objectives in his final 5 video games in all competitions. The Poland striker is ranked third on the all-time listing of Champions League scorers, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Bayern’s Canadian participant Alphonso Davies made his first look since Dec. 17 after an extended harm layoff due to cardiac points.
Villarreal, primarily based in a metropolis of about 50,000 folks, is taking part in within the quarterfinals for the primary time in 13 years. It certified for the Champions League by profitable final season’s Europa League.
Bayern was eradicated by PSG at this stage final season. The German membership made it to the final eight 10 occasions within the final 11 seasons. The staff is taking part in within the quarterfinals for a file twentieth time.
The winner will play both Benfica or Liverpool within the semifinals. Liverpool gained the primary leg in Lisbon 3-1.
