Villarreal coach Unai Emery stated that his team eliminated Bayern Munich from the Champions League quarter-finals due to their tough response and flawless defense.
Villarreal drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday night in Germany, thanks to Samuel Chukwueze’s second-half goal.
Emery’s side went to the Champions League semi-finals with an aggregate score of 2-1 after winning the first leg 1-0 in Spain last week.
“The feeling is unbeatable,” Emery stated during his post-match press conference.
Although it was a big game, the first half revealed a lot about how we’d react. To our credit, we were faultless.
After being dismissed by Arsenal in 2019, Emery has rebuilt his career in Spain. Last season, he led Villarreal to victory in the Europa League. And the 50-year-old has kept up his good work this season, leading one of La Liga’s lesser-known clubs to a last-four match against either Liverpool or Benfica.
However, Samuel Chukwueze has revealed what Unai Emery told him before coming on to score against Bayern Munich in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg.
In the 84th minute, Chukwueze came on to replace Francis Coquelin and scored a late goal four minutes later to send Villarreal into the Champions League semi-finals.
The La Liga squad advanced to the Champions League semi-finals on a 2-1 aggregate score after beating 1-0 in the first leg last week in Spain.
When asked what his boss Unai Emery told him before he came on, Chukwueze stated in his post-match press conference.
When asked what his manager, Unai Emery, told him before he came on, Chukwueze said at the post-match press conference, “He said to me, ‘just run.'” ‘When you don’t have the ball, run,’ he said.
“Winning one of the favourites in the Champions League is not easy,” the Nigerian international added. Before you can win the Champions League, you must first defeat the best and prepare for the next match.”
Villarreal’s coach however praised his team’s efforts against Bayern Munich, and he was particularly pleased with Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent cameo.
After coming on as a substitute, the Nigerian needed only four minutes to condemn Bayern Munich to another quarterfinal defeat in Europe’s premier club football championship.
Emery lauded his players’ discipline and expressed excitement at seeing them make history with the Yellow Submarine in his post-game press conference.
Villarreal had maintained a key lead at the Ceramica and had only one task in Munich: to avoid losing by more than a goal.
“I’m delighted for him (Chukwueze) and everyone. We had gained a lot of confidence from our round of 16-match against Juventus, and now it was time for another important game. The first leg had already told us a lot about ourselves.
“We were faultless in defence,” the former Arsenal manager said after the game. Chukwueze’s goal was his sixth of the season and his first of the year in all competitions. For the first time since 2006, Villarreal has advanced to the final four of the Champions League.
