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    Champions League: Villarreal clear Bayern from Liverpool's path

    Planet Sport writerStaff Writer12 April 2022
    Samuel Chukwueze celebrates his goal for Villarreal away to Bayern Munich in the Champions League QFs

    Samuel Chukwueze celebrates his goal for Villarreal away to Bayern Munich in the Champions League QFs

    Late goal by Samuel Chukwueze stuns home fans in Munich - and sets up likely clash with Liverpool in semi-finals.

    Gerard Moreno said Villarreal always believed they could eliminate Bayern Munich from the Champions League as they appeared to make Liverpool's path to the final a little easier.

    The Spaniards scored with their only shot on target in the first leg and repeated the trick in Munich on Tuesday night, Samuel Chukwueze netting in the 88th minute to secure a 2-1 aggregate win.
    Having lost the first leg 1-0, Bayern continued to struggle for a goal in the first half.

    However, Robert Lewandowski made the breakthrough after 52 minutes.

    The game looked to be heading to extra time but with just two minutes of normal time remaining, Chukwueze converted Moreno's low cross at the far post with a scruffy finish to stun the Allianz Arena.

    Unai Emery's side now progress to the last four where they are expected to meet Liverpool - the English team lead Benfica 3-1 ahead of Wednesday's second leg at Anfield.

    While Villarreal have proved solid defensively, Jurgen Klopp will doubtless be happier to face them rather than Bayern.

    Belief

    Moreno said: "Ever since the draw paired us with Bayern, we have been telling ourselves that we could do it. The belief and the way this team competes has helped us to achieve it.
    "In the first leg we made the mistake of not finishing the tie, and all the comments serve as motivation for us. They made the mistake today of not killing us off and we took advantage of that. What this team has done is great."

    Meanwhile, a crestfallen Thomas Muller was left to rue missed chances on the night.

    He told Amazon Prime Video in Germany: "If you take just this game into account, without the first game, we should have gone through convincingly. It's difficult to accept this. I don't know what to say."
    READ MORE: Champions League SF draw details

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