Villareal stuns Bayern Munich : Arnaut Danjuma strikes the winning goal
Villareal won against Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final match at El Madrigal stadium on April 7, 2022. Both the squads will lock horns again in the return leg of the quarter-final, to be played at the Allianz Arena on April 13
Arnaut DanjumaVillarreal CF was extremely dominant over Bayern Munich and was trying to take the game to them from start to finish. Bayern Munich had 68% possession compared to 32% of Villareal but didn't seem to be making much use of it. Villarreal CF was able to get a one-goal lead at the end of regulation time.
Arnaut Danjuma was the sole goal scorer of the match, with one goal scored in the 8th minute. His early goal gave the Spanish Europa League champions the victory. Danjuma was at the right place to shoot a deflected shot by Dani Parejo. He made no mistake and scored early in the game, giving Villareal a one-goal lead.
The Spanish champions almost doubled the lead when a cross went directly into the goal past Manuel Neuer. But the goal was ruled out because of Gerald Moreno’s positioning, which led to an offside. Bayern tried to build up the pressure against Villarreal CF in the second half but badly failed.
Bayern Munich gave a sub-par performance and get even a single shot in the first half. Legendary Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who is currently the top goalscorer across all competition for the current season, failed to penetrate through Villareal's defense.
It was Villareal's first UEFA championship quarter-final victory at their home stadium since 2006. It was also the first away from home defeat for Bayern since 2017. Bayern will have to give a much better performance in the return leg of the quarter-final if they desire to continue their 2022 Champions League journey. The German Giants only have a one-goal deficit and should still have some hope left.