Villarreal stunned six-time European champion Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 16 years yesterday thanks to Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th-minute goal that salvaged a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Villarreal’s 1-0 lead from the first leg was wiped out by Robert Lewandowski seven minutes into the second half, but Chukwueze completed a counterattack within four minutes of coming off the bench to extend the Spanish team’s surprising run in the competition.
The entire city of Villarreal - with a population of 50,000 - could fit into Bayern’s 75,000-capacity stadium.
And while Bayern lifted the European Cup in 2020, the furthest Villarreal has reached in the competition is the semi-finals in 2006.
But the same resolve that saw Villarreal beat Manchester United in the 2021 Europa League final has now seen Unai Emery’s side oust both Juventus and Bayern in the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Liverpool or Benfica await in the semi-finals, with the English club holding a 3-1 lead over the Portuguese side heading into today’s second leg at Anfield.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid saw off a stirring Chelsea fightback to book their place in the semi-finals following a 3-2 defeat after extra time at the Santiago Bernabeu that sent them through 5-4 on aggregate.
Chelsea had looked on course to complete an astonishing comeback after taking a 3-0 lead in their quarter-final second leg with goals from Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and an excellent individual effort from Timo Werner.
Yet the hosts came roaring back, with Rodrygo finishing from a superb pass by Luka Modric to level the tie 4-4 on aggregate and force extra time when Karim Benzema headed home to decide a remarkable encounter.
Real Madrid will now face either Manchester City or Atletico Madrid in the last four.
