Champions: Juventus 0-Villarreal 3 | Gerard and Pau score Riquelme’s penalty in Turin

16 years had passed and the thorn of the penalty missed by Riquelme It was still stuck in the heart of Villarreal. Gerard had it again in the 11 meterstwo minutes after stepping on the grass after a long time injured. And he did. Gooooal!. All of Vila-real shouted it. And if the emotion of the moment was not enough, the sentence came from someone special. The ‘Xic del Poble’ he cried that penalty when he was nine years oldlike all the people. Pau scored with his heart and unleashed the yellow euphoria. ‘Submarinazo’ in Turin and quarters. Danjuma completed the win again from the penalty spotthe one that already gave the Europa League to Emery’s men a few months ago.

Before, you had to suffer. Rulli halted Hurricane Vlahovic, one of the forwards of the moment. But the plan worked out perfectly this time for Emery. Send to Coquelin and above all, Gerard, to the grass at the moment of truth. And one forced the penalty and the other converted it. Villarreal is among the eight best in Europethe third Spaniard to achieve it.

Juventus and Villarreal are two teams with ammunition to spare. That is why, after ten minutes of reconnaissance, hostilities broke out. Each in their own way, just as Allegri and Emery had drawn on their blackboards. Juve, by crushing. Villarreal, choosing the optimal moment, looking for their stilettos.

The two were close to the goal in the first half. Although it is true that Juventus had the clearestalways with Vlahovic in the center of everything, as if he had been playing in the Champions League for 20 years and all life in a club as big as Juve. But Rulli, the hero of the Europa League, kept him ten with ten. Argentine kryptonite against the Serbian superman.

The first duel in the sun was at 19′, with a great shot by Vlahovic from the edge of the area that Rulli stopped with agility. The Argentine was already hot because a little earlier he had already snatched the goal from Morata who had headed violently.

Vlahovic was untied. A vertiginous unchecking at the near post, truffled with a shot with the left foot crossed it seemed that he was going to knock down Rulli. But this time a crossbar made in Buenos Aires came to the aid of the Submarine. The Juve intensified the goal amarilla but Villarreal endured with temper, trying to cool the boiler with long possessions and, incidentally, find the cracks in a black and white midfield, with Arthur and Locatelli, something weak.

Thus came the first Lo Celsowhich came whistling off the Szczesny post. Juventus Stadium fell silent and his team felt for the first time that, in addition to enjoying Vlahovic, they had to keep an eye on the back. Another start from the sprinter Danjuma that Lo Celso finished off in the air finished leveling the game. Juve stopped generating although from set pieces it is still fearsome. A prolongation of De Ligt ended in the head of Vlahovic, only, in the small area. Half goal. Not if Rulli was in front. another stop.

The frenzy of the first half turned to sanity in the second.to. Villarreal took a step back. But precisely in that position he suffered much less. Juve had long possessions but only scared Rulli from long shots. One of Rabiot stopped him with Rulli fists, blocking in two counts.

The clock ticked and Emery was placing his pieces on the board to draw his checkmate. First Coquelin, then Gerard. The Frenchman fought and they penalized himi. A penalty that the referee did not see and VAR had to come to the rescue. Gerard converted it. There were 13 minutes left and, with Dybala and Bernardeschi, it was expected that Juve would squeeze. But no. Pau Torres finished off Juve and from then on everything was a party. So much so that the second penalty came in the discount. Danjuma completed the win.