Villarreal Eliminates Bayern From UCL, Real Madrid Also Through

Final cheers from Villareal FC Bayern Munich v FC Villarreal during the UEFA Champions League Football match in April 2022
Final cheers from Villareal FC Bayern Munich v FC Villarreal during the UEFA Champions League Football match in April 2022. Photo by Action Press/Shutterstock (12892755bj)

Villarreal followed up their elimination of Seria A giants Juventus in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 with another big upset. This time, the La Liga team sent Bayern Munich packing after holding to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the quarterfinals. Real Madrid lost 2-3 to the defending UCL champions Chelsea in the second matchup of the night but is also through thanks to a 3-1 win in the first leg.

Villarreal managed to beat Bayern 1-0 in the first leg at their Estadio de la Ceramica and came to Germany intending to keep their net intact. They managed to do so until early in the second half when the Bundesliga giants finally broke the deadlock. Star forward Robert Lewandowski got the ball at the top of the box, found some space for a shot, and placed the ball past Villarreal’s goalie Geronimo Rulli.

However, just when it seemed that the game would go to overtime, Villarreal put together a counterattack that sub Samuel Chukwueze turned into a goal in the 88th minute. Bayern tried their best to respond but couldn’t find another crack in their opponent’s sturdy defense.

Real Madrid welcomed Chelsea at Santiago Bernabeu with a two-goal cushion. However, things started to look grim for the La Liga club as the game went on. Mason Mount scored in the 15th minute, and Antonio Rudiger added another goal in the 51st minute to make things level. Marcos Alonso added the third goal for Chelsea twelve minutes later, but his effort was canceled after a VAR check.

Striker Timo Wener did what Alonso couldn’t and brought Chelsea’s lead to 3-0 in the 75th minute. It seemed likely that Real could be eliminated before Rodrygo made it 3-1 to force the overtime.

The Spanish club turned out to be a more composed side in overtime, scoring a goal thanks to Karim Benzema in the 96th minute and holding onto their 5-4 aggregate lead.