Unai Emery highlighted that his Villarreal need ‘to play a perfect’ game against Bayern Munich but felt that they’re no longer underestimated.
The Spanish side knocked out Juventus in the Round of 16 of the Champions League this season, winning the second leg 3-0 in Turin to pull off a 4-1 aggregate win, embarrassing Massimiliano Allegri’s side. They hope to pull off a similar upset against their German opposition tomorrow.
Speaking in a press conference today, Emery first reflected on Villarreal’s impressive work in the Champions League this season.
“We progressed through a group stage with Manchester United and Atalanta, we eliminated Juventus in a great clash, we’ve faced important opponents in Europe both this year and in the past.
“All this experience makes us shake off the concept of being a surprise. But we have to play a perfect game.”
He spoke about Bayern Munich coach Julien Nagelsmann’s claims that they want to try and close out the tie in the first leg of the clash.
“I think he was sincere, they are the favourites and in the 90 minutes they have the opportunity to make the difference. We respect Bayern, we have analysed them.
“We will try to identify our strengths to see where we can hit them but we will also try to play 90 minutes with the hope of staying alive for the return leg. Tomorrow we will live a special and unique moment. We’ll play for it.”
Juventus’ Champions League collapse against Villarreal was another sign that Allegri’s side need a serious overhaul in the summer, with Dusan Vlahovic only being a single piece of the puzzle. Paulo Dybala’s departure seems symbolic of the end of an era in Turin, giving them the chance to shake things up in Turin in a bid to return to the top.