The field for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals is set after Chelsea and Villarreal punched their tickets on Wednesday. They join Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Benfica ahead of Friday's draw to determine the bracket.
Villarreal went through with a 3-0 victory over Juventus (4-1 on aggregate). This is now the third consecutive season that Juventus haven't advanced past the round of 16 in Champions League play and it stings especially given that they dominated most of the match. It was quite a turnaround as Juve had their chances with Dusan Vlahovic hitting the post. He and Alvaro Morata combined to produce six shots (four of which hit the target) for an xG of 1.23 in the first half alone.
But the number that mattered is that Juventus didn't score a goal from their great chances. Mattia De Sciglio and Juan Cuadrado put cross after cross into the box and Villarreal keeper Geronimo Rulli was having none of it. Getting to the half unscathed allowed Unai Emery to tweak his own tactics, parking the bus and letting Juventus work themselves into frustration.
It worked as Daniele Rugani brought down Francis Coquelin in the box and Gerrard Moreno put his penalty past Wojciech Szczesny. Then the entire Juventus defense was caught sleeping as Serge Aurier's corner weaved through all of Juventus to Pau Torres for the second goal. Matthijs de Ligt conceded yet another penalty that Danjuma buried for the final 3-0 advantage. As a result, both England and Spain have three quarterfinalists each, while there are no Serie A teams left in the UCL field.
In France, Lille looked sharper at times, but the Blues were patient and picked their spots, scoring in each half to win comfortably. The Blues did concede a first-half penalty via a Jorginho handball that Burak Yilmaz buried, but the lead was short lived. American Christian Pulisic scored the equalizer for Chelsea from a narrow angle in the first-half added time.
Then it was Cesar Azpilicueta in the 71st minute to slam the door shot for Thomas Tuchel's men.
The French side recorded an xG of 1.36 to Chelsea's 0.66, but a comeback in the tie never felt likely, even when leading 1-0 (and over half of Lille's xG came from that early penalty). The Blues, meanwhile, managed to get by while focusing on possession, taking their time to build up and happily passing the ball backward, and playing keep away.
Lille did come close to getting their second goal in the second half, but by that time Chelsea had the match under control and would not come close to squandering it, keeping the chance of a UCL repeat alive.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's action, as well as some ratings for key players.
It wasn't an overly dominant display from the Blues, but they did enough. They were content with focusing on possession, knowing that it was Lille who had to get forward in numbers, with Chelsea picking their spots. Both of the goals, from Pulisic and Azpilicueta, came at moments when the French side were on the front foot. Pulisic's goal at the end of the first half essentially killed off the game, giving the team a needed result while dealing with the club's off-the-pitch turmoil brought on by the sanctions against owner Roman Abramovich. They were not exceptionally sharp, but they didn't have to be, and Thomas Tuchel will gladly take this result back to London.
CHRISTIAN PULISIC. CLINICAL. 🇺🇸
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
The pass from Jorginho though. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/Pz4mP9QBXm
After having a chance to join Newcastle, Emery wanted to stay with his Villarreal side to at least finish the season. While not in the greatest form in La Liga, as they sit six points off of a Champions League place, he knows what he's doing on European nights. They go into each match thinking that they can win and as an unlikely side to make the Champions League semifinals, they're playing with house money. With the togetherness of the squad and the attention to detail of their manager, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Yellow Submarine go further into the knockouts depending on the draw.
Just look what it means to Unai Emery. 👏 pic.twitter.com/lCaJoGTjFv
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
With Paulo Dybala's future uncertain, this is a bad way for Juventus to fall out of Champions League play. Similar to Manchester United, it feels like the club is stagnating and the last 16 is the furthest that they can make it. For an ambitious side expecting to compete for Scudettos and Champions League titles, this isn't good enough. When Villarreal's second goal went in, Juventus laid down instead of pushing for a winner. A long look will need to be taken at the squad and the management structure for tough decisions to get them back to where they want to be.
Christian Pulisic, Chelsea: Just had one shot, and it was a 0.06 xG shot, but boy did he put it away. The pass from Jorginho was brilliant, but scoring from that tight of an angle was equally special. A great moment for Pulisic, who also scored in the first leg. Rating: 8
Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea: Just so reliable. Not only did he score, but he also completed 95.9 percent of his passes and was smart and effective in defense. Just a complete leader and still under appreciated. Rating: 8
Sven Botman, Lille: Lasted just 58 minutes after picking up an injury. He had won all of his duels and was putting in a nice shift before the knock. His exit left his team terribly vulnerable, and Chelsea scored soon after. Rating: 7
Jonathan David, Lille: A night to forget. Had just one shot as the service wasn't there, but his runs were fairly decent. He could have done a bit better to finish off his runs to open up space., but he'll be frustrated to have not gotten more looks. Rating: 4
Alvaro Morata, Juventus: Created great chances and put two shots on goal without getting a reward for his good positioning. While Morata has been in good form with Vlahovic, today felt like the old Morata who couldn't put the ball into an open net. Rating: 6
Juan Cuadrado, Juventus: Their best player on the day, Cuadrado created five chances, had eight recoveries, and added two tackles won for good measure. With better finishing, he bags a few assists. Rating: 8
Pau Torres, Villarreal: Easily the player of the match. Even without his goal, Torres won four tackles and made six clearances to ensure that as little as possible made it to Rulli. Rating: 9
Geronimo Rulli, Villarreal: Five saves and three punches while Rulli was active all match. He out-dueled his counterpart and didn't believe that he'd be beaten in net on the night to see his team to victory. Rating: 8
De Ligt concedes the penalty as Juventus imploded in the closing minutes of this one.
Just look what it means to Unai Emery. 👏 pic.twitter.com/lCaJoGTjFv
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
Assisted from the corner the ball snuck through the entire Juventus defense for the goal. How did that go in?
Juventus are heading out the Champions League. 😳 pic.twitter.com/I6c1WLuXnm
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
VILLARREAL LEAD AGAINST JUVE WITH 12 MINUTES REMAINING. 👀 pic.twitter.com/AhhAnEFZXX
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
César Azpilicueta puts Chelsea into the #UCL quaterfinals...with his knee. 💥 pic.twitter.com/KHtE5uoGWC
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
Moreno just squeaked the penalty by Szczesny. The Juventus keeper got a hand to it but it wasn't enough to keep the ball out of the net. Dybala is in to try to get one back.
VILLARREAL LEAD AGAINST JUVE WITH 12 MINUTES REMAINING. 👀 pic.twitter.com/AhhAnEFZXX
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
Azpilicueta scores from close on a ball from Mount! Chelsea all but through to the last eight now! Clinical and somewhat out of nowhere ... again.
The Yellow Submarine are getting great value for their defending as Juventus have only registered four shots in the second half so far.
Xeka, unmarked, heads the ball right off the post on a lovely ball from Yilmaz! That could have been the momentum builder they needed!
Timothy Weah has come on for Lille in the 58th minute for Memhet Celk as the hosts know they have to get something going in attack.
Francis Coquelin and Samuel Chukwueze come in for Trigueros and Pino. Emery is looking to continue defending for value and take advantage if Juventus opens space for them but so far so good on the defensive end of things.
Yilmaz almost gets his second! A good header after getting by Chalobah goes right by the post! They needed that!
In defense, everyone but Danjuma is behind the ball as Unai Emrey has tweaked things to contain Juventus. This is risky going on the defensive so early in a match but it did work for Benfica yesterday.
As the struggle to finish chances continues, getting Dybala on the pitch will be one of the biggest things that Allegri can do to try and change the tie. WIll Villarreal find an opener before Juventus can make a change?
Things start how the first ended with Cuadrado's cross being parried by Rulli before it can find Morata for a shot.
Burak Yılmaz. Top corner. Lifeline for Lille. 👀 pic.twitter.com/BWek2oL9XS
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
Burak Yılmaz. Top corner. Lifeline for Lille. 👀 pic.twitter.com/BWek2oL9XS
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
Juventus has nine shots so far and have put four on target compared to Villarreal not putting a shot on frame but you wouldn't know it by the scoreline. In a game that has gotten evener as it's gone on, Max Allegri will press for his team to be more clinical in the second half. Cuadrado and De Siglio are in acres of space but with six shots between them, strikers Morata and Vlahovic haven't converted their chances.
Just before the break, it's Pulisic who scores for the Blues! A fine finish from a narrow angle brings things level, with Chelsea's two-goal lead in the tie restored! A lovely little pass from Jorginho set up the American!
It's 1-0 to the hosts Burak Yilmaz buries the penalty!
Burak Yılmaz. Top corner. Lifeline for Lille. 👀 pic.twitter.com/BWek2oL9XS
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2022
A claim for a penalty for Lille after the ball appears to hit the hand of Jorginho in the box! VAR is being consulted...and it is a PK!!!!
How many bites at the apple will Vlahovic need before one goes in. Three shots in good positions but nothing to show for it so far. Feels like Villarreal are playing with fire but at the moment they're safe.
Juventus has a slight advantage with 53 percent possession to 47 but right now Villarreal aren't doing much with the ball as their three shots have produced an xG of .12. They won't get many chances so they have to work on getting the ball into better positions.
That is three shots for Lille and an xG of 0.08, while Chelsea have yet to record a shot ... 61.4 percent possession for the Blues so far.
So so close as De Sciglio can't be contained in the early going. Vlahovic strikes the cross and Rulli was beaten but saved by the post. Lo Celso creates a good effort on the other end but can't put his shot on target. End to end stuff so far.
Not great from Chelsea in the early going as the French side look much more threatening. The Blues aren't doing really anything in attack, aiming to just hold on to the ball and chew up the clock. Time is on their side.
Following a good passing move, the ball found Vlahovic with room to shoot but he ends up going down in the box. While not a move resulting in a penalty, Juventus would've expected someone to at least test the keeper in that situation. Unai Emery will be concerned with how easy it has been for Juventus to find space early on.
Aurier plays in a good cross but it's dealt with by De Ligt. Stoll not much to press these sides as De Sciglio plays a cross across goal but no one was there to meet it. Morata finally puts a shot on target but Rulli is there to save.
Some nice back and forth between Chelsea and Lille here with each team getting some decent early looks. The match is open and fluid, and there certainly feels like there will be goals in this one. Lille need to strike first to have any realistic chance.
