Villarreal 1-0 Bayern: Danjuma gives Spanish side first-leg advantage
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Article summary
Arnaut Danjuma's eighth-minute strike gave Villarreal a slender Champions League quarter-final lead over Bayern München.
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Villarreal marked their first UEFA Champions League quarter-final appearance since 2009 with a narrow first-leg win against Bayern München thanks to Arnaut Danjuma's early strike.
Key moments
8' Danjuma fires Villarreal in front
53' Gerard Moreno shoots against a post
62' Moreno's lob lands narrowly wide
Match in brief: Resolute Villarreal earn edge over Bayern
Villarreal had conceded at home with a minute gone in the previous round but made a sharper start this time when Danjuma diverted Dani Parejo's shot beyond Manuel Neuer after eight minutes for his sixth goal in this season's competition.
Pairing resolve with compactness and diligence in possession, the Yellow Submarine denied free-scoring Bayern a shot on target during the first half. The visitors struggled to apply accuracy to their attempts when they re-emerged, and Gerard Moreno almost made it 2-0 when he rattled the base of a post with a thunderous drive from distance.
Moreno then threatened to catch out Neuer out with a long-range lob after being presented with possession, spurring Julian Nagelsmann to make two changes to his uncharacteristically misfiring side. Alphonso Davies's speculative strike midway through the half – the first to test Gerónimo Rulli – sparked a brief nervy period for the dogged home defence.
Unai Emery's men inevitably absorbed more pressure against the top scorers in the competition, confidently seeing off a succession of corners and crosses while looking a threat on the break. The Villarreal coach's only regret may be his side's narrow failure to add to their advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich.
PlayStation® Player of the Match: Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal)
"He understood perfectly his position in the team, defending in the line of four midfielders. He was outstanding with the ball, creating a lot of problems for the opposition and showing really good quality."
UEFA Technical Observer panel
Graham Hunter, Villarreal reporter
It's going to be the 25th anniversary of Fernando Roig buying this wonderful community club in May. During that time the growth, the worldwide awareness of Villarreal's identity, the quality of football, the employment opportunities, the two training grounds and the glorious Europa League win in Gdánsk last May are red-letter achievements. Juve have been beaten, following Manchester United, Arsenal, Inter Milan – the Yellow Submarine knows no boundaries. But perhaps this ranks as the most impressive home performance in all those years of UEFA competition. Sparkling football, total self-belief.
Jordan Maciel, Bayern reporter
The positive for Bayern is that it was only 1-0, a result they are more than capable of overturning in Munich next Tuesday. The negative: almost everything else. Visibly rattled by the early goal, Nagelsmann and his men had no answer to Emery's tactical mastery and Villarreal's disciplined performance. Questions will now be asked of the six-time winners; they have until next week to find the answers.
Reaction
Unai Emery, Villarreal coach: "My team is very competitive. We are collecting lots of superb memories and experiences across this season and last. The way the team is responding is stating that 'we are here, okay against a favourite – and we are competing to be in the semi-final.' They were practically perfect tonight."
Arnaut Danjuma, Villarreal scorer: "Champions League nights are incomparable. We can still be so much better than we've shown today. Then again, if you win 1-0 against Bayern and can still improve, that's a positive. Unai is a tactical mastermind. We're confident in him and he's confident in us – it goes hand in hand."
Giovani Lo Celso, Villarreal midfielder: "Villarreal are a hungry team. Even against one of the best teams in the world, even though we are humble, we produced a tremendous performance and, frankly, the scoreline should have been bigger in our favour."
Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern coach: "Villarreal are a hungry team. Even against one of the best teams in the world, even though we are humble, we produced a tremendous performance and, frankly, the scoreline should have been bigger in our favour."
Thomas Müller, Bayern forward: "We'll take the 1-0 result. We know that things could have been a lot worse. We have to pay a lot of respect to our opponents. Now we need to pick ourselves back up for the return leg and hit back."
Joshua Kimmich, Bayern midfielder: "We weren't in it at all in the first half. In the second, we risked more but then things got quite wild. We have to be honest and say that we've done well to come away with just 1-0."
Owen Hargreaves, BT Sport
"Villarreal will be really delighted with the way they've played. That's a great Bayern team and they've made them look ordinary – but they needed a second goal. They could have easily had two or three."
Key stats
- Villarreal are unbeaten in their last ten home games in all competitions (W7 D3).
- The Spanish side have lost only one of their six home games against German teams in UEFA club matches (W3 D2 L1).
- The Europa League holders are unbeaten in their previous seven home games in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League.
- Bayern's record unbeaten 22-game UEFA Champions League unbeaten away run came to an end (W17 D5).
- The 2019/20 champions failed to score for the first time in 31 UEFA Champions League matches, since a 0-0 draw at Liverpool in February 2019.
- This was only Bayern's second defeat in their last 29 UEFA Champions League matches (W26 D2).
Fantasy star performers
Dani Parejo – 8
Arnaut Danjuma – 8
Giovani Lo Celso – 8
Pau Torres – 8
Raúl Albiol – 8
Line-ups
Villarreal: Rulli; Foyth (Aurier 81), Albiol, Pau Torres, Estupiñan; Coquelin (Pedraza 59), Capoue, Parejo; Gerard Moreno, Danjuma (Chukwueze 81), Lo Celso
Bayern: Neuer; Pavard (Süle 71), Upamecano, L Hernandez, Davies; Kimmich, Musiala; Coman, Müller (Goretzka 62; Roca 90), Gnabry (Sané 62); Lewandowski