Bayern Munich welcomed Villarreal on their home turf Allianz Arena to reduce the first leg deficit of 1 goal in order to proceed to the semi-final of UEFA Champions League 2021-22.
However, Unai Emery’s team, who won the Europa League against Man United last season, stood firm in the face of Bayern’s siege. Thus, the first half ended with the German side dominating the game but the scores still read as 0-0.
After the break, Bayern finally showed signs of life, and their increased intensity resulted in a goal when Villarreal lost possession. The Bundesliga side had been pushing for a winner after Robert Lewandowski’s 13th Champions League goal of the season.
However, Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th-minute strike secured a dramatic 2-1 aggregate victory for underdogs Villarreal. Substitute Chukwueze, who had only been on the pitch for four minutes, finished off a rapid counter-attack to silence the Allianz Arena.
Thus, Villarreal knocked out the German Champions by winning the 2-leg tie on an aggregate of 2-1. With this, Villarreal have now reached the UCL Semi-final for just the 2nd time in the history of the club.
Moreover, Bayern have now been eliminated at the quarter-final stage for a record 8th time, which is more than any other side in the history of the competition.
Under Unai Emery, Villarreal has gone undefeated in the Champions League and Europa League knockout stages in their last 13 games (nine wins and four draws)
Bayern Munich 1-2 Villarreal (On Aggregate): Post Match Reaction
After the match, Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann was extremely disappointed after the match. The German boss said
“We are out of the German Cup, out of the Champions League. I don’t think this is good enough for Bayern. We had the semi-finals as our minimum goal and we failed to achieve it. It counts as one of my top three defeats.”
“We knew they can defend. At the end we missed that second goal. The pressure was good. We defended well. We dominated them for much of the game but it matters little because we are eliminated.”
Villarreal secured their place in the last eight with a spectacular 3-0 win over Juventus, but their elimination of Bayern, who were nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, was even better.
On his victory, The Spanish club’s boss said
“The feeling is unbeatable. We are achieving important things. It was a huge game, but the first leg already said a lot about how we were going to respond today. We were perfect in defence.”
The 50-year-old further added saying
“To achieve something, you have to do important things and beat the favourites. That [round of 16] game against Juventus gave us a lot of confidence. In the semi-finals, we will try to create circumstances so that we have our chances. Liverpool are a great team and Benfica, too. It will be a great semi-final to enjoy.”
The Spanish side will now face one of Liverpool or Benfica in the 2021-22 Champions League semi-final. Liverpool have a 2-goal advantage over Benfica, who will travel to Anfield on Wednesday night.
