Villarreal staged a stunning late comeback to eliminate Juventus from the UEFA Champions League round of 16 with a 3-0 victory. The Spanish side had absorbed everything Juventus threw at them in the first half, with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli making two excellent saves from Dusan Vlahovic and the striker also striking the post.
The breakthrough came 13 minutes from time when substitute Francis Coquelin was fouled in the box by Daniele Rugani. After consulting the pitchside VAR monitor, the referee awarded a penalty, and fellow substitute Gerard Moreno calmly slotted the ball past Wojciech Szczesny to give Villarreal the lead.
Juventus were stunned, and the Spanish side quickly capitalised. Five minutes later, a corner from Serge Aurier found Pau Torres, who nudged the ball home unopposed to double Villarreal’s advantage.
The scoring wasn’t finished yet. In the second minute of stoppage time, Arnaut Danjuma converted a penalty after Matthijs de Ligt was judged to have handled the ball, completing the 3-0 rout and sending Villarreal into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Villarreal’s late surge highlighted their resilience and clinical finishing, leaving the Italian giants stunned and out of Europe’s premier club competition.
