Juventus have been shocked by Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League and will have to pick up the pieces of one more failed attempt to win the coveted continental competition. Not even Massimiliano Allegri's return to their dugout was enough to see them back to the last eight, and now they have been forced out of the competition by a team ready to leave a lasting impression after winning their first European cup last year.
The bianconeri dominated ball possession for most of the clash, but after being denied over and over by goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, the Italian side was not able to hold their ground against a consistent rival. It only took Villarreal 14 minutes to score three goals in the final portion of the game, and the Yellow Submarine have made it past the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
This end result to the tie shocked Juventus to their very core, especially after what turned out to be their third straight exit from the competition in this stage.
Juventus have been knocked out in the R16 in their last 3 Champions League campaigns:
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 16, 2022
19/20 - Lyon
20/21 - Porto
21/22 - Villarreal
Allegri's men crashing out of Europe. #UCL pic.twitter.com/FfZP4OWGt7
As for Villarreal, Unai Emery's men proved to the world that hard work pays off, and now they have joined an elite list of teams to defeat Juventus at their very own ground in a UEFA Champions League clash.
6 - @VillarrealCFen are the sixth team to win an away Champions League game against Juventus in the knockout stages, after Manchester Utd in 1999 (3-2), Deportivo La Coruna in 2004 (1-0), Bayern Munich in 2013 (2-0), Real Madrid in 2018 (3-0) and Ajax in 2019 (2-1). Submarine. pic.twitter.com/SGS3dAb8Ze
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 16, 2022
As a cherry on top, Dutch ace Arnaut Danjuma has become the team's best scorer in a single UEFA CL season, as he found the back of the net for the fifth time as a Villarreal player, surpassing the record set by Joseba Llorente in the 2008-09 edition.