Arnaut Danjuma of Villarreal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg match against Bayern Munich at Estadio de la Ceramica. Getty Images
“Our team is very hungry and humble,” man-of-the-match Giovani Lo Celso told Movistar Plus. “But we faced one of the best teams in the world and we go out with the sensation that we should have scored several more goals.
Still, Tuesday’s victory is an achievement in itself against a club that had not lost on the road in the Champions League for a record 22 games, dating back to a loss to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
Bayern, the runway Bundesliga leaders seeking a seventh Champions League title, had a massive edge in form and European pedigree against the seventh-placed team in Spain playing in Europe’s premier competition for just the fourth time.
But Bayern struggled to cope with Villarreal’s compact shape, counter-attacking and intensity on both sides of the ball.
Villarreal twice came inches away from adding to their lead, first when VAR ruled Francis Coquelin to be just offside before his cross drifted into the back of Neuer’s net and then when Gerard Moreno smashed a 25-yard shot against the bottom of the post in the second half.
But, after seeing off Juventus in the previous round, Villarreal now has another European giant-killing firmly in their sights.
“We know that it will be a completely different game in Germany,” captain Parejo told reporters.
“We had at least five opportunities to score, they didn’t create a single one. That says a lot about what we are capable of. So we will go there and compete with the same passion.” (ESPN, Reuters)
