Villarreal face Bayern Munich at La Ceramica tomorrow night.
It’s a huge game, the first leg of the quarter-final of the Champions League. They don’t get much bigger than Bayern.
The German giants have won the European Cup six times in their history; in 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013 and 2020. Villarreal have won one trophy in their history, the 2021 Europa League.
But that won’t matter on the night; whoever the better side is across the 180 minutes is going to be all that counts.
“You have to enjoy this opportunity, to compete knowing they are favourites and that they have this run without losing,” Unai Emery said in comments carried by Marca when reminded that he was the last coach to beat Bayern at home in Europe.
“I’m flattered to remember that with Paris Saint-Germain we were the last to beat them 3-0 at the Parc des Princes in a good game. But these are different moments, different teams and different approaches against an opponent of such potential.
“It’s going to be the sum of many details.
“We have the ambition, the opportunity to live these games with the idea of competing and having options. It’s going to be different to the tie with Juventus, they’ll demand different things of us. We have to know how to adapt and work the game to ensure we’re closest to our best performance.”
Bayern beat Salzburg to make it to the last eight of the Champions League and are currently top of the Bundesliga; they’re nine points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Villarreal pulled off the shock of the round in the last 16 to knock out Juventus but are struggling domestically by comparison. They’re seventh in La Liga, 12 points behind fourth-placed Sevilla.
