Unai Emery has rubbed salt into the Juventus wounds after guiding his Villarreal side to an eye-catching triumph over the Italian giants.
Despite being underdogs in the tie, the Spanish side romped home to a 4-1 aggregate victory over the Bianconeri, who have now been eliminated at the Round of 16 stage for three successive seasons. Yet despite Juve’s repeated failings, Emery insisted that the 2015 and 2017 finalists were among the favourites to win this season’s competition.
Despite Dusan Vlahovic scoring in the first minute of the first leg, the Old Lady did not find the net again across the remaining three hours of the tie as Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli produced a fine display in the second leg. Penalties from Gerard Moreno and Arnaut Danjuma either side of a Pau Torres goal – all in the final 12 minutes – sealed Villarreal’s progress to the quarter finals.
