Villarreal drew 1-1 with Juventus at La Ceramica on Tuesday evening in the first leg of the Champions League last 16. Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring in the first minute only for Dani Parejo to draw the Yellow Submarine on level terms in the 66th.
The result means that the tie is very much in the balance and will be decided in the second leg in Turin, which is scheduled to take place on March 16th. Given the away goal rule no longer counts in European competition Villarreal have a very good chance indeed.
Villarreal came into the game sixth in La Liga having recovered after an underwhelming start to their campaign. They’re three points behind Barcelona, 18 behind leaders Real Madrid.
Juventus came into the game fourth in Serie A, still seething after losing their league title to Internazionale last season. They’re three points clear of Atalanta and nine behind pace-setters Milan.
“It was a hard-fought game,” man-of-the-match Parejo said post-match as carried by Marca. “When they scored in the first minute it disrupted our plan a little bit. But despite conceding so quickly, we went for the game. I think we dominated the first half. Overall, we deserved to win and we were superior. I’m a little dissatisfied because we created chances and stood up and if anyone deserved to win it was Villarreal.
“I saw the space [for the goal] and [Etienne] Capoue found me well. Even if I hit it well I wasn’t guaranteed to score. I’m happy with the goal on an individual level, but we have to go to win. Here, drawing isn’t worth anything. We approached the game with the intention of winning it and we don’t care who we’re playing or at what stadium it is.”
