How Villarreal created the feat against Bayern
While Bayern Munich thought they would topple Villarreal in their own arena, the Spanish club first held on, before crucifying their opponent. All this thanks to a well-developed tactic and an additional motivation born from the arrogant statements of Julian Nagelsmann.
A historic achievement. For the second time in its history, after 2006, Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. The club from the province of Castellon eliminated one of the favorites of the competition, Bayern Munich, with a recipe concocted by Unai Emery. The former PSG coach knows how to sublimate his teams in this kind of appointment by establishing a battle plan executed to perfection by his players. The lines are close together, the density in the axis even if it means leaving space on the wings, and the immediate exploitation of the spaces in counterattacks.
“We knew that here it was very possible to take a goal. But we knew we would have opportunities. 90 minutes is a long time. We have one, a real one, and we scored it,” said Etienne Capoue to beIN Sports after the game, all smiles. The Germans, including the president of the Bavarian club Oliver Kahn, criticized this defensive tactic and the gain of time over the minutes. “It’s not fair. The game is played there, in 90 minutes. We were better. Today we didn’t waste time. We played clean. We play like that. Everyone has their tactics. But respect is important. You forget the first game,” Unai Emery was keen to remind in the press conference.
Motivated by the arrogant statements of Bayern
But beyond the tactics deployed, Villarreal had an extra soul, born of the confidence shown by the German club after the defeat of the first game. Julian Nagelsmann’s statements after the 1-0 loss in Spain fueled the Yellow Submarine’s fighting spirit. “We made a lot of mistakes in the first leg. They made one: leaving us alive. And we have to punish them for that,” he said. This feeling of superiority was even shared on social networks, the account of the German club allowed himself to share the prediction of an Internet user, who bet on a 9-3 in favor of Bayern in the return match …
Villarreal responded to this with humor on social networks, and his players did not fail to pass the message. “Today was the heart, we really gave everything, for everything they said in the press too. It motivated us. Because I think they lacked humility, it’s a pity because it’s really a great club and I think they were a bit arrogant towards us. It gave us that extra motivation,” explained Capoue, relayed by his midfield partner Dani Parejo.
“The coach (Nagelsmann), I don’t know him, but I think he disrespected Villarreal and soccer a little bit, for saying that he wanted to punish us after the first leg. It was a lack of respect for us and I think that in the end when you spit, sometimes it tends to fall on you. Gerard Moreno had the same opinion. “Those comments were a motivation for us. Today they made the mistake of leaving us alive and we took advantage of it. What the team did was great. So we can’t advise Villarreal’s next opponent, Liverpool or Benfica, not to upset the players of the yellow submarine more than necessary!
