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.
“We weren’t scared and we showed maturity,” Unai Emery said post-match as carried by Marca. “We were right there, with options to equalise in the first half. We conceded a goal but the team fought back. We equalised and wanted more. We’re left dissatisfied with a draw.
“The goal didn’t give us an advantage. Now we must go to Turin and win. If we tie there will be extra-time and penalties and if we lose we’ll be eliminated. Now we have to focus on La Liga, which is what feeds us, to make it back into Europe for next season.
“We have to win a lot because others are also going to win and we’re currently at a disadvantage. And then we’ll focus on the Juventus game. We’ll see how many players we recover and try to ensure we don’t lose any more before then.”
