Champions League: Bayern crash and burn against Villarreal

Spanish side Villarreal CF are through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2006. Manager Unai Emery has proven once more that he has a special touch when it comes to European competitions, and he has now led the La Liga side past early favourites Bayern Munich.

Villarreal showed off their firing power in the first leg, where they were unfortunate to only come away with a 1-0 advantage. They had dominated the first leg with a physical approach that left many of Bayern Munich's players limping off after getting battered and bruised at the end of the 90 minutes. The scoreline did not do justice to the Spaniards, and they almost paid the price in the second leg.

Bayern Munich fought back at the Allianz Arena, and it was a much more even affair compared to the encounter in Spain last week. Bayern missed an early opportunity after Leroy Sane found Joshua Kimmich, who wasn't able to put his header on target.

Robert Lewandowski finally made a breakthrough for the Bavarians in the second half, but it was not enough. Bayern were not able to capitalise from the momentum switch, and Villarreal soon started to pile on the pressure.

The tension at the Allianz Arena was intense, but even the home crowd was not able to propel the team past the Spanish side. It looked like the match might head into extra time, but Samuel Chukwueze came off the bench and scored in the 88th minute to send Villarreal through, 2-1 on aggregate.

Villarreal were clearly delighted to make it past the European giants, despite the fact that they currently sit only in seventh place in La Liga. It was a massive upset, and they now join La Liga leaders Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Three out of the four teams in the semis could be from Spain if Atletico Madrid manage to get past Premier League Champions Manchester City on Wednesday. The final berth is being contested between Benfica and Liverpool FC.