Liverpool Withstands Villarreal's Rally, Advances to 2022 Champions League Final
May 3, 2022
Liverpool's Fabinho celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League semi final, second leg soccer match between Villarreal and Liverpool at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
The quadruple remains on for Liverpool.
Thanks to a second-half turnaround, the Reds beat Villarreal 5-2 on aggregate to qualify for the Champions League final.
The "game of two halves" cliche certainly applied Tuesday night at Estadio de la Ceramica. Liverpool went behind by two goals before scoring three unanswered to make the final score more one-sided than the tie was.
Villarreal was decisively beaten in the first leg, and the 2-0 final score might have slightly flattered the Spanish club. The Yellow Submarine only finished with 29 percent of possession and failed to register a shot on target.
Veteran center back Pau Torres wasn't throwing in the towel, though.
"At home we are a totally different team, we are going to go out there and play to win," he told Movistar Plus (via Reuters). "We still trust in ourselves, we have no doubt. I can promise our fans they are going to see a Villarreal that they can identify with in the second leg."
From the opening whistle, Villarreal displayed a clear sense of purpose and showed no fear in taking the match right to Liverpool. That mentality resulted in a goal straight away.
In the third minute, Pervis Estupinan hit a dangerous cross to the far post. Etienne Capoue didn't make clean contact with his attempted shot, which proved to be a blessing in disguise as the ball rolled perfectly into the path of Boulaye Dia.
Three minutes in and Villarreal already got one back 😱
The goal didn't shake Liverpool out of its early slumber as Villarreal continued to boss the game from there. An aggregate equalizer felt inevitable, and it arrived in the 41st minute on a header from Francis Coquelin.
It was a stunning turnaround from such a one-sided opening leg, both in terms of Villarreal's dominance and Liverpool's disarray.
Half time, Villarreal 2 (2) Liverpool 0 (2). The Reds playing like they have finally run out of steam after such an intense run - and like they can’t handle being played at their own game. One way to handle it is to pass the ball better, but they know that. Work for Klopp to do.
Did say earlier to @ianirvingtv that Villarreal needed a replica of the first leg first half v Bayern to get back in this tie. Did not for a second imagine that they'd actually produce it.
The abolishment of the away-goals rule meant the second half was there for the taking for the host. Under the old format, Liverpool would've needed only one goal to effectively blunt all of the momentum Villarreal had built to that point. Without that advantage for the Reds, the match continued to teeter on a knife's edge.
Whereas some were calling for Jordan Henderson to replace Naby Keita at the halftime interval, manager Jurgen Klopp opted to bring on Luis Diaz for Diogo Jota. The Liverpool manager clearly wanted to take a more aggressive approach.
Between that and whatever Klopp told his players in the dressing room, the second half was a stark contrast to the first.
Fabinho made it 2-1 in the 62nd minute on a shot that squeezed between the legs of Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli. Diaz added more breathing room in the 67th minute, illustrating how much his inclusion changed the match.
Rulli could've done more to keep Fabinho's effort out of the net, and he was squarely to blame for Sadio Mane's tally in the 74th minute. The Argentine shot-stopper ran well off his line and left the goal wide open as Mane got on the end of a lofted pass from Keita.
Overcoming a two-goal deficit in a little more than 20 minutes was already a tall order for Villarreal, so going behind by three meant the end of the home side's Cinderella story.
Liverpool, on the other hand, punched its ticket to Paris for the Champions League final on May 28. The Reds await the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
They will either have the chance to best their biggest domestic rival or gain a measure of vengeance after losing to Madrid in the 2018 final.
Villarreal Eliminate Bayern Munich, Advance to UCL Semifinals with 88th-Minute Winner
Apr 12, 2022
Villarreal's Nigerian midfielder Samuel Chukwueze celebrates scoring the 1-1 during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, second leg football match FC Bayern Munich v FC Villarreal in Munich, southern Germany on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Jose Jordan / AFP) (Photo by JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Villarreal completed its stunning upset over Bayern Munich with a 2-1 aggregate win in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
After grabbing a surprising 1-0 advantage in the first leg at home, the La Liga squad closed things out in Tuesday's second leg at Allianz Arena with a late winner by Samuel Chukwueze.
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 12, 2022
Robert Lewandowski had equalized the tie with a goal in the 52nd minute, his 13th of the Championship League campaign. It seemed another Bayern goal would be inevitable, but it was Villarreal that came through on the counterattack in the closing minutes of regulation.
Bayern was seeking its seventh European championship and second in the last three years, but it couldn't overcome last year's Europa League winners.
Villarreal will now face the winner of Liverpool and Benfica in the first leg of the UCL semifinals on April 26 or 27.
After a first leg that featured just one goal, the second leg was another defensive struggle with neither side able to create many opportunities early.
Lewandowski was quiet in the first half but finally came through with the match's first goal in the 52nd minute:
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 12, 2022
It created a 1-1 tie on aggregate, setting up a dramatic finish.
Bayern Munich continued to produce more shots, but it was the first shot on net for Villarreal that ended up deciding the match. Chukwueze finished an excellent pass from Gerard Moreno on the counter to put the Spanish club ahead for the eventual win.
It was a change from the first half when each team failed to take advantage of its few chances.
There was more pressure on Bayern, which came out with an aggressive 3-2-4-1 formation led by Lewandowski. Bayern had 63 percent possession in the first half while outshooting Villarreal 8-2, although only one shot was on net.
The home team simply wasn't as dangerous as it should have been:
Bayern have five attackers on the pitch and they've managed just one shot on target in the first-half. Villarreal sitting deep, but Bayern should be better than this
Lewandowski had a yellow card and might have deserved a second one but was fortunate to stay on the pitch. While the striker came through with a goal in the second half, it wasn't enough to keep his team in the competition.
After consecutive wins over some of Europe's top clubs in Juventus and Bayern Munich, Villarreal is now into the UCL semifinals for the first time since 2006.
Villarreal Stun Bayern Munich 1-0 in 1st Leg of Champions League Quarterfinal
Apr 6, 2022
VILLARREAL, SPAIN - APRIL 06: Arnaut Danjuma of Villarreal CF celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Villarreal CF and Bayern München at Estadio de la Ceramica on April 06, 2022 in Villarreal, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Villarreal has Bayern Munich on the ropes in the Champions League quarterfinals thanks to a 1-0 victory in the first leg Wednesday night.
Bayern was fortunate to come away with a draw from its first leg against Red Bull Salzburg in the round of 16 as Kingsley Coman scored in the 90th minute. The German giants followed with a 7-1 demolition of Salzburg to reassert the natural order of things.
Even with the opening leg at Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal entered as the obvious underdog. The club sits seventh in La Liga and followed its 3-0 victory over Juventus with defeats to Cadiz and Levante.
But Bayern Munich found itself down 1-0 in just the eighth minute. Dani Parejo hit a low shot that appeared to be going wide but fortuitously found the feet of Arnaut Danjuma.
Bayern haven't lost away in the #UCL since 2017. 👀
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 6, 2022
Francis Coquelin appeared to double Villarreal's lead when his mishit cross floated into the back post in the 41st minute. The goal was taken off the board, however, following a video review.
A 2-0 scoreline wouldn't have flattered the host, which did a great job of controlling the tempo in the first half. Bayern Munich didn't have a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes, and the impact of Robert Lewandowski hardly registered.
Bayern zero shots on target. Thomas Muller and Lewandowski barely had a kick. Lewy just 13 touches, the majority in his own half.
As the second half got underway, there remained a sense that the other shoe would drop for Villarreal. Bayern's quality would shine through sooner or later, or the Yellow Submarine would slowly run out of gas as the finish line approached.
For the second time, Manuel Neuer was also spared after making an uncharacteristic error. The Bayern goalkeeper ventured well outside of his box and hit a pass that was intercepted by Gerard Moreno. The Villarreal winger let loose from around the halfway line and saw his effort bounce wide.
Gerard Moreno almost lobbed Manuel Neuer from the half way line.
On the other end of the pitch, it looked like Villarreal were playing with two or three extra players with how frequently they were blocking Bayern Munich's efforts on goal.
But Bayern's draw with Salzburg served as a reminder of how all of Villarreal's work could be undone in a moment. All of the scoring opportunities the Spanish side wasted could come back to haunt the club.
Coman was almost the hero for the Bavarians again when he was unmarked in the box, but he hit his half-volley straight at Geronimo Rulli in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
Unlike Salzburg, Villarreal held on and put the pressure squarely on Bayern Munich for the return fixture.
What's Next?
The clubs will head to Allianz Arena on April 12 for the second leg.
