MADRID (AP) — Pau Torres' jarro shot had crossed the goal line when Villarreal coach Unai Emery unleashed the euphoria running in circles around the sidelines.
The 85-minute score against Juventus in Turin gave the visitors a two-goal lead, a sentence for the tie. Villarreal ended up winning 3-0 and sealed their ticket to the Champions League quarterfinals.
It was the first time that Emery managed to draw the round of 16 of the highest club tournament in Europe, and he ensured that three clubs from Spain met in the quarterfinals for the first time in three weak seasons for the country that has won the most times in the tournament — 18 titles between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“It is an extra pride that we can defend Spanish football from a difficult time,” said Emery. “We want to have our recognition and I am proud of everything, for Spanish football, for Villarreal and for going through the round of 16 that I had not done so.”
The Champions League has been an ordeal for Emery in the past, but clubs in Spain are often the protagonists. Three Spaniards reached fourth in six consecutive editions between 2013-18. Only Barcelona reached the quarterfinals in 2019, and the Catalan team was accompanied by Atlético de Madrid in 2020. The colchoneros were the only representatives of Spain to advance to the event last season.
The panorama painted dim after the round of 16 draw in December. None of the Spanish teams appeared as favorites in their crosses.
And it seemed to get worse when overwhelmed Madrid succumbed 1-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg in the French capital. The meringues also conceded a goal in the first half of the return in Madrid, but the 13-time European Cup champions reversed the score with a striking hat-trick by Karim Benzema within 20 minutes to win 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium last week.
Atlético conceded a goal in the final stages and settled for a 1-1 draw at home against Manchester United, but Diego Simeone's team gave a defensive recital to win 1-0 in England on Tuesday.
Villarreal and Juventus also tied 1-1 in the first leg, but the “Yellow Submarine” settled the series with three goals in the last quarter of an hour.
Rival technicians criticized the defensive deployment of the Spaniards.
Massimiliano Allegri, the helmsman of Juve, complained that Villarreal fell back and “didn't even try” to attack in the second half.
Ralf Rangnick, the United strategist, accused Atlético of losing time at all times and said that his players were always throwing themselves on the floor.
“We had a match plan. We knew we would have difficult times,” Emery said.
England also has three teams in the quarterfinals, as in the last edition. Reigning champions Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City advanced this year alongside German club Bayern Munich and Portugal's Benfica.
Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern and Benfica showcase European Cups in their showcases, while Atlético and City have reached the final
As for Villarreal — the modest club from a city of 50,000 inhabitants in southern Spain — the furthest it had come was in the semifinals of 2006, a team that was led by Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini and had Argentine driver Juan Román Riquelme and Uruguayan striker Diego Forlán as figures.
Emery, previously coach from Valencia, Sevilla, PSG and Arsenal, was shipwrecked in his three previous attempts to overcome the round of 16 in the Champions League. But the Basque coach won Sevilla three times in the Europa League between 2014-16 and another time with Villarreal last season, beating United.
“The rivals are all difficult now, it's a huge opportunity as this tie has already been,” said Emery, who led Arsenal for two seasons before taking over Villarreal in 2020. “We will prepare it well, with great care and we will play against whatever opponent it is.”
The draw for the quarter-finals of this Champions League will take place on Friday.