It has been said about the Spanish LaLiga for a long time that it has lost its footing, but what happened in the round of 16 of the most important club tournament in the world recovered the good feelings, with the advance of Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Villarreal.
All three went to the next phase in extremis and except for Atleti, who had the most equal options against Manchester United, the meringues and the yellow submarine achieved real feats.
With a draw in the first leg, Villarreal, with an irregular performance in the Spanish tournament, seemed inferior to Juventus in Turin playing at home. However, the miracle happened last night, with an excellent tactical approach from coach Unai Emery.
After the goalless hug in the first half and some threats from Juve well covered by Argentine goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, the entry of attacker Gerard Moreno in the middle of the supplementary injection injected “gunpowder” offensive.
Penalty goals from Moreno at 78 and Dutchman Danjuma at 92, with an interspersed goal from Pau Torres at 85, sealed the feat against an Italian team outclassed on all lines.
A day earlier, on Tuesday, Atlético de Madrid, who also arrived level in the first leg, adjusted to the winning script of their coach, Diego Simeone, and with a goal from the Brazilian Renan Lodi at 41 they eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United .
Also, as a curiosity, with a memorable performance by their goalkeeper, the Slovenian Jan Oblak, and notable performances by the Mexican Héctor Herrera, the Uruguayan Josema Giménez, the Portuguese Joao Félix and the French Antoine Griezmann.
Last week it was Real Madrid’s turn, which shook the Santiago Bernabéu stadium and started an explosion of jubilation in the capital, with an epic comeback and three goals from Frenchman Karim Benzema, to leave the powerful Paris Saint Germain of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Spain is, along with England, the country with the most teams in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, as the English managed to pass with the current monarch, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool.
Completing the list are the reckless Bayern Munich of Germany and Benfica of Portugal. The draw for the next phase will take place this Friday in Nyon, Switzerland.
jf/ft
