Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Villarreal managed the feat of eliminating Bayern in Munich on Tuesday night, snatching a 1-1 draw thanks to Samu Chukwueze two minutes from the end of regulation time, after their 1-0 first leg victory in Spain.
For the German champion, who dominated this return match but for a long time came up against an airtight defense, which only Robert Lewandowski was able to pierce (52nd), this elimination against an opponent presumed to be weaker will hurt a lot.
The young coach Julian Nagelsmann, who arrived on the bench at the age of 34 at the start of the season, certainly won unanimous support around him very quickly. But at Bayern, and he has said it enough himself, only titles count.
And its leaders will certainly not be satisfied with the only Bundesliga title, which seems to no longer be able to escape the “Rekordmeister”, 9 points ahead of Dortmund five days from the end.
This failure confirms a well-established statistic at Bayern: since 2015, the “Rekordmeister” has lost a first leg in the Champions League six times. And each time he was eliminated.
After their failed first leg and several performances unworthy of their quality in recent weeks in the league, the Bavarians had nevertheless promised a revolt.
heroic resistance
Julian Nagelsmann, the coach, had boasted the day before the match. Villarreal largely dominated the first leg, he admitted, but ” they made a mistake: they left us alive. And we have to punish them for it “.
The players had also gone there with their martial declarations: “ We have character in this team, a lot of pride “, had dropped the captain Manuel Neuer, “ when we lost a first leg, you shouldn’t joke with us “.
But the Spaniards did not arrive in Munich to be ” to punish “. And they offered heroic resistance.
The match started without an observation round, like a fight. And Bayern took a good quarter of an hour to gain the upper hand and control of the match.
Faced with a team well grouped in its 30 meters, Bayern sought to play in long transverse and by the wings.
Coman on the right, Sané on the left, managed to overflow several times, but their crosses found neither Lewandowski nor Müller, stuck in the defensive nets of the “Yellow Submarine”.
It was not until the 29th minute that Jamal Musiala placed the only goal on target in the first period, with a powerful header from ten meters, but directly into the arms of the goalkeeper.
Joker
The opener came after the break, by the double best player Fifa 2020 and 2021, Robert Lewandowski, who scored with a shot from the edge of the box his 13th goal this season in the Champions League, on his very first opportunity of the match (1-0, 52nd).
Pushed by their 70,000 supporters, the Munich residents then increased the pressure on visitors often reduced to repelling attacks from their penalty area, and trying to take advantage of a few rare counterattacks.
But the defense held firm, and neither Upamecano (50th), nor Müller (71st), nor Coman (76th) managed to frame the three best German chances.
There were two minutes to play when, on a quickly led block, the Nigerian Samu Chukwueze, entering as wild card, beat Manuel Neuer with a recovery under the bar, while Alphonso Davies had covered two players who could have been in position offside.