Villarreal continues to run Champions League as Bayern Munich squander important opportunities
MUNICH, Germany – Allianz Arena speakers sounded “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and “The show must go on” as soon as the final whistle blew. Bayern MunichChampions League hopes for another season, but they won’t hear one of the dreary songs in the small section containing Villarreal supporters.
They were too busy to celebrate their team’s 2-1 aggregate win, which secured a spot in the Champions League semi-finals. Once again, Unai Emery’s stellar army has left a European superpower in awe. Last week’s 1-0 win over Bayern at El Madrigal was followed by a Draw 1-1 here in Germany, earn “Golden Submarine” on semi-final day with either Liverpool or Benfica.
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Leading 3-1 from the first leg in Lisbon, Liverpool will almost certainly confirm themselves as Villarreal’s opponents in the round of four when they host the second leg against the Portuguese side at Anfield on Wednesday. Even the most cautious Liverpool supporters will celebrate Villarreal’s progress – as poor as Bayern Munich are on two legs, they are still six-time league champions and perennial Bundesliga champions. And Villarreal is what they have always been, an offensive team that outweighs their weight.
They are a club from a town with a population of only 51,000 – less than half its capacity BarcelonaCamp Nou – and never won a major title until last season’s dramatic penalty shootout win Manchester United during the Europa League final in Gdansk, Poland. That victory helps Villarreal win tickets to the Champions League final this season and they certainly have won the highest achievement. Emery’s team is stunned Juventus in Turin to knock out the Italian giants in the round of 16 and now they have beaten Bayern.
“If you want to achieve something in this competition, you need to beat the big teams,” said Emery. “We’ve taken the first step [in the last 16] with Juventus. With Bayern, we analyzed the game very well. “
For Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann, no matter what he achieves in the country this season, his first year as Bayern manager will be deemed unsuccessful because of this result, which he even even admitted.
Nagelsmann said: “We’re out of the German Cup, out of the Champions League. I don’t think this is good enough for Bayern. We got to the semi-final with minimal aim and we didn’t achieve it. “. “It’s considered one of my top three losses.”
But Villarreal continued to play. In less than 12 months, this tiny club from a small town in northeastern Spain has beaten Manchester United, Juventus and Bayern Munich – iconic clubs with 11 titles. Champions League between them. So Liverpool – if it’s Jurgen Klopp’s side – should be wary of the underrated Villarreal because they are an exceptionally organized and drilled team. They work hard and are dedicated and they have a taste to upset European football.
Arnaut DanjumaThe goal of the first leg – Francis Coquelin there was another goal ruled out by VAR – which gave Villarreal a slim advantage going into this game and seemed like an impossible task for Emery’s side considering that Bayern, with 30 goals in the competition this season before kick-off, are the top scorers in the Champions League by some distance, with City of Manchester in second place with 24 goals. Bayern created chances and scored, but they failed to score in Spain and Emery’s game plan for this game was clear from the start – a cramped defence with almost touching distance between quarterback and midfield when defending. At one point in the first half, every Villarreal player was behind the eighteen-yard line as they tried to upset Bayern, and the tactic worked.
But adding to the annoyance of the home team, Villarreal also used every opportunity to kill the game by running around wasting time or taking advantage of any challenge that caused one of their players to declare an injury. Despite an array of attacking talent that saw them launch five forwards, Bayern failed to break through and Villarreal had their best chance in the first half – both wasted by Danjuma and Gerard Moreno. But when Robert lewandowski put Bayern ahead and leveled the total by finishing Thomas Muller Stepping through the 52nd minute, it seemed that the home team would take the lead to win by exploiting the gaps in the Villarreal defense.
However, although Bayern created 24 goals, they were only able to score 4 goals. Bayern played insensitive and predictable going forward like Villarreal with their defensive tactics. Thomas Muller missed an easy opportunity in the 71st minute, headed in Leroy SaneCross from 6m, but Villarreal was never overwhelmed. They were never like that. And they also have a counter punch, shown with devastating timing when subs Samu Chukwueze Breaking the offside trap to score after Moreno’s cross in the 88th minute.
It was the match, the setup and the match for Villarreal and Emery had another tactical victory over a highly rated coach. Emery, who lasted less than two seasons as Arsenal coach, has proven himself as a coach of European descent by winning four Europa Leagues – three with Seville and one with Villarreal. Can he add a Champions League to his record this season? The odds are against him, but time and time again Villarreal has shown us that it’s a risky business bet for them, no matter how brilliant their opponents. .
