Villarreal secured a shock 1-0 win in their Champions League quarter-final first leg clash against German powerhouses Bayern Munich.
Of all the quarter-final ties this round, this match seemed like the easiest to call given the form of Bayern and in particular the unstoppable form of Robert Lewandowski.
However, Villarreal continued to defy the odds in Europe and managed to hold out against a talented but frustrated Bayern side.
Villarreal pull off another major European shock against Bayern Munich
Playing at home in the Estadio De La Ceramico, Villarreal got an early goal through Dutch international Arnaut Danjuma.
It came after some slick build-up play down the right flank by the Spaniards, before a pullback pass into the box found a completely unmarked Dani Parejo.
His attempted a shot into the left hand corner was slightly tame and scuffed, but to his surprise, and to the shock of the Bayern defence, Danjuma came from nowhere to smash it into the net past Manuel Neuer.
Well this is a turn up for the books 😲
| Watch every UCL game for free here on the LiveScore app: https://t.co/asGxlTfSUJ. Registered ROI users only. #ad pic.twitter.com/uHAcrH9RPQ— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) April 6, 2022
Of course, the Germans did not seem flustered given their stature and experience, and would still have been confident of coming away with a positive result against a Spanish side who currently languish in 7th place in La Liga.
However, Villarreal continued to find success and looked to have made it 2-0 through Francis Coquelin after his cross missed everyone and sneaked over the line. VAR had other ideas though, and the goal was disallowed for a marginal offside.
Bayern continued to push relentlessly for an equaliser but it was not to be as Villarreal scored another upset victory in Europe.
The win adds to their collection of big European results in recent seasons after knocking out Juventus in the round of 16, and beating Manchester United on penalties in last year’s Europa League final.
Despite the loss, Bayern will still be favourites to go through when the sides travel to the Allianz Arena for the second-leg, such is the general gulf in class between the two sides
Villarreal need only look to what happened to RB Salzburg in the last round of the Champions League to see the capabilities of the team from Munich.
Having drawn the first leg in Austria to Salzburg, Bayern duly went and thrashed them 7-1 at home.
See Also: Karim Benzema Stuns Stamford Bridge With Another Champions League Hat-Trick
