Villarreal welcome Juventus to La Ceramica this evening in the first leg of the last 16 of the Champions League. It’s as big a tie as it gets for the Yellow Submarine; they don’t come much bigger than the historic Italian club in the context of European football.
Villarreal go into the game sixth in La Liga, having recovered after an underwhelming start to their domestic campaign. They’re three points behind fourth-placed Barcelona and 18 behind league leaders Real Madrid, and they’re in good form.
Juventus come into the game fourth in Serie A, still seething after losing their league title to Internazionale last season. They’re three points clear of fifth-placed Atalanta and nine behind current pace-setters Milan. They’re unbeaten in five.
And they took the lead at La Ceramica inside the first minute. It was January addition Dusan Vlahovic who struck first blood to score his debut Champions League goal. Villarreal then equalised in the 66th minute through Dani Parejo, who scored his first-ever goal in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
🚨⚽️ | WHAT A GOAL! Dani Parejo gets an equaliser for Villarreal! Villarreal 1 – 1 Juventus
pic.twitter.com/zypf4BBjxU— Football For You (@FootbaIlForYou) February 22, 2022
