17th March, 2022
Europa League champions Villarreal scored three second-half goals in a 3-0 defeat of Juventus in Turin to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in 13 years.
Substitute Gerard Moreno converted a penalty in the 78th minute to break the deadlock following a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Then Pau Torres was left unmarked to redirect in a corner before Arnaut Danjuma added another spot kick as Villarreal advanced 4-1 on aggregate.
“For 75 minutes the squad did well,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said.
“Then a single episode changed the match. These things happen in soccer and we have to accept this heavy loss.”
The loss means that Juventus have recorded three straight eliminations at home in the Champions League round of 16 in three seasons.
And this had happened with three different coaches.
Allegri returned to Juventus this season after Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo coached the Bianconeri during defeats to Lyon and Porto at this stage over the last two seasons, respectively.
Including a quarterfinal defeat to Ajax in 2019, it’s the fourth straight time that Juventus has been knocked out after a home second-leg match.
“We have to improve in scoring goals when we are dominating games like tonight,” Juventus defender Danilo said.
“We made another mistake after their first goal. We still had time to equalize and bring the game to extra time but we all went forward and they punished us.”
In Wednesday’s other match, defending champion Chelsea advanced 4-1 on aggregate after a 2-1 win at Lille.
The draw for the quarterfinals will be held Friday.
Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Benfica also advanced to the last eight.