It is an immeasurable achievement. Copiously dominated throughout this quarter-final second leg of the Champions League, Villarreal held on on the lawn of Bayern Munich (1-1), Tuesday, April 12. The short success of the first leg (1-0) finally proved enough: for the second time in its history, the Yellow Submarine reached the last four of the C1. Bayern Munich thought they had done the hardest part by breaking through the lock carefully concocted by Unai Emery, after Robert Lewandowski’s opener (52nd). But Villarreal made the round back, before snatching the qualification on a counter, by Samuel Chukwueze (88th) … on the only shot on target from the Spaniards. A terrible disappointment for Bayern, eliminated in the quarter-finals for the second time in a row.
#UCL | 1-1 90’+4′ | FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL! FINAL!
¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING! ¡IN SOWING!
¡DIIIIIIIIOSSSSSSSSSSS! ¡QUÉ GRANDES! pic.twitter.com/T3I10OWosv
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 12, 2022
Yet hell was predicted for Villarreal. “They left us alive, we will punish them”, even dared Julian Nagelsmann, the Bavarian technician, at a press conference on Monday. The former RB Leipzig technician has surely forgotten a parameter in the equation: the formidable capacity of the Spaniards to endure. Spending a good part of the match cornered in his last thirty meters did nothing to slow down Etienne Capoue’s teammates. “We shocked Europe!laughed the ex-Toulousain afterwards at the microphone of Canal +. We defended really well together. We bet everything on that, and it paid off.”
With 32% possession and four small shots, Villarreal’s low block bided its time. It came at the very end of the match, by the young Chukwueze who came into play three minutes earlier. The magic recipe had already worked in the round of 16, in Turin. Dominated by a conquering but sterile Juve, Unai Emery’s men had punished their opponents on the counter (0-3). Sixteen years after its only half of C1, the club of the Valencian Community returns to the gratin of Europe. They will find Liverpool or Benfica there (3-1 victory for the Reds in the first leg of Portugal).
Already deprived of the last four by PSG last year, Bayern can harbor regrets. Arch-dominators territorially, the Munich residents have also been so in the statistics. But with only 4 small shots on target (out of 23 attempted), the performance is not enough to claim the continental title, despite Lewandowski’s thirteenth goal in the Champions League. The Bavarians used a stereotypical and unsuccessful side game, most of the 39 crosses having given nothing.
The worst is undoubtedly that the scenario is substantially similar to that of the first leg. In Spain, Bayern had already broken their teeth on the back guard amarilla, before being trapped in a counter-attack. Julian Nagelsmann did not learn the lesson: despite their undeniable offensive contribution, the pistons Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sané did not shine in the defensive withdrawal. The spaces left in their backs finally got the better of their club’s European season.