Another dramatic night of Champions League action is officially in the books and we now know the identity of two semi-finalists in this year’s competition. One of them is Real Madrid after they avoided a dramatic comeback win for Chelsea, with the surprising second being Villarreal.
After beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg they knew they’d do well to hold onto that advantage in the return fixture. In the end, though, they got the job done with a 1-1 draw that sends them soaring through to the final four.
Bayern come close
Bayern Munich had to work incredibly hard to even carve out opportunities here and when they did, they attempted several different things in the name of trying to overcome their stubborn opponents. Robert Lewandowski managed to get himself on the scoresheet in an impressive fashion and if their finishing had been slightly more on point, they could’ve sailed through.
Yellow Submarine adjustments
Villarreal saw the endless crosses being floated into the box and opted to change up their system to meet the enslaught. They opened their game up and kept as calm as they could, with Unai Emery once again producing the kind of defensive masterclass that shows off why he’s so revered on the European stage. They may be seventh in La Liga, but they know how to perform when it matters the most.
Semi-final awaits
Villarreal will now wait and see who they get to play in the semi-finals with Benfica and Liverpool being set for their second leg later this evening. The Reds are the ones who lead the way but Benfica should take motivation from this performance and see that anything truly is possible in the UCL. Regardless, though, there’s nobody Villarreal should be afraid of at this level after what they’ve already achieved.
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