The Yellow Submarine must overturn a two goal deficit in tonight's second leg to reach the Champions League final
By the end of tonight, we will know if Villarreal are to play their first UEFA Champions League final at the end of this month. If they do qualify, this group of player's will have made history, becoming the first to take the club all the way in European football's most prestigious club competition.
Villarreal do have European pedigree, having won the Europa League last season, reached the Champions League semi finals and quarter finals on previous occasions, and won back-to-back Intertoto Cups two decades ago, but this will be a landmark achievement for Unai Emery and his men.
To pull it off, they will need to overcome a two goal deficit against inarguably one of the best teams on the planet right now in Liverpool. Despite defending resolutely and restricting Jurgen Klopp's side as best they could, Villarreal eventually did succumb to two second half goals, which have left them with a mountain to climb in this tie.
Even if they don't make it to the final, this group of players will have stunned millions of fans around the world by beating the likes of Juventus and Bayern Munich to get this far, having only qualified for the tournament by virtue of their winning the Europa League last season.
Let's take a look at how they got here.
From a difficult start to the group phase all the way to the last four
The Yellow Submarine came into this competition on the back of beating Manchester United in the final of last season's UEFA Europa League. They overcame the odds on that occasion after winning one of the most memorable penalty shootouts in history, which ended with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli saving the penalty of his United counterpart David de Gea to win the shootout for Villarreal 11-10, after every single player on the pitch had taken a spot kick.
They would soon face United again in the group stage of the Champions League this season, as part of a tricky group also including Atalanta of Italy and Young Boys of Switzerland. Emery's men struggled from the outset, drawing at home against Atalanta and losing in Manchester. Back-to-back wins over Young Boys got them back in the hunt but a second defeat against Man United left the group wide open going into the final game. To the joy of the travelling fans, The Yellow Submarine were able to emerge as 3-2 victors away at Atalanta to book a place in the second round.
That would have been achievement enough, but Emery had no plans of stopping there. What would follow would be four impressive performances to topple European giants Juventus and Bayern Munich on their way to reaching a UEFA Champions League semi final against Liverpool. This is where the fairytale hit a bit of a roadblock as Villarreal slipped to a 2-0 defeat last week.
The first leg of the semi final went as expected. Villarreal sat deep, soaked up pressure and tried to sneak a goal on the counter Unfortunately for the visitors, Liverpool pressed with such intensity that it was impossible to get out and create anything dangerous going in the other direction. After conceding two second half goals in as many minutes, Emery tried to open things up a little bit but his team's inability to create chances had just as much to do with Liverpool's stiffling and suffocating press as it did his own tactical approach.
In the second leg, Villarreal fans and neutrals alike will hope that the Spanish side can create some chances early on and get back into this tie. If they concede first at La Ceramica, it's difficult to see Liverpool dropping a three goal lead against anyone, especially a club which despite having all the courage in the world has far fewer resources.
What do Villarreal fans think of this season's European campaign?
We wanted to hear more from Villarreal fans themselves to get their perspectives on the European journey so far and the team's prospects of reaching a first ever Champions League final. We spoke to Cristian Salvador from Villarreal News, and Allen Dodson and Zach from Villarreal USA to get their thoughts on another Villarreal fairytale.
Q. Having entered the Champions League as Europa League winners, what were your expectations going in?
Cristian: Our expectations were to get out of the group stages. Every team that is not used to being in the UCL year after year wants to get out of the group and then go from there - you get extra money, and you play without any pressure; and that's where fun things can happen.
Q. What did you make of the team's overall performance in the group stage of this season's competition?
Allen: I thought it would be a tough test and it was. Atalanta scared me as an opponent so getting past them in that final match was huge.
Q. How optimistic were you when the team drew Juventus in the second round? How surprised were you by the result?
Zach: I told folks on the site that if Villarreal kept up the form they had at the time the draw happened, we should be the favorites against Juventus. That got sort of mixed reviews from commentors on the site so it was not a universal opinion, but this is not the Juventus of old and there was no reason to fear them. I was impressed with how emphatic the final result was but I was not surprised, we're just better than they are.
Q. In a few words, how exactly did Villarreal manage to get by Juventus and Bayern Munich to reach the semi finals?
Cristian: The main thing is that we were the underdogs. Emery is one of the best cup-style tournament managers in world football (not so much in domestic competition), and he makes this team play very well when defending and countering back. We were lucky to play against two teams who wanted the ball, wanted to attack, and did not care much about leaving spaces behind (Juventus more in the second match than anything; Bayern throughout as it's in their DNA). We took advantage of our counters and went through. It's what we have been doing against big teams all year.
Q. Who have been the side's two standout players in Europe this season?
Allen: Gerard Moreno and Raul Albiol, if I can have only two! Parejo, Pau and Danjuma too.
Q. Have you noticed any differences tactically between the way Emery set the team up in the UEL last year compared to in the UCL this season? How would you describe the style of play?
Zach: When Vincente Iborra and Dani Parejo were the regular double pivot, Emery played out short from the back a lot. Now with Capoue as Parejo's partner and Rulli having some distribution troubles early in the season, Emery plays more directly, and with the addition of Danjuma to the attack that has worked great, so long as Danjuma has a reference point like Gerard up top with him. Villarreal plays extremely disciplined positional football with dangerous organized incisive attacks when they force a turnover.
Q. What do you make of some of the criticism of the team's performance in the semi final first leg against Liverpool? One particular pundit called it a "disgrace", how do you respond to that?
Cristian: This person was obviously trying to get a reaction, and he got one. For someone to say that about a team with a quarter of the budget of the bigger team, a team that plays in the opposition's historic stadium, and a team without their best player on the pitch (Gerard Moreno, injured), it doesn't make any sense, so I will just say that he does not know what he is talking about.
Every time we make the spotlight, we get hordes of people talking about our team, our style of play, our history, etc. like they know it all. They just read Wikipedia and go "report." - it's why I build www.villarrealnews.com to bring real information about Villarreal forward.
Q. Is this Villarreal team capable of pulling off a comeback and making it to the Champions League final?
Allen: Yes, if Gerard is able to play - if not it will be almost impossible. The best scenario is probably forcing extra time. Unfortunately we probably needed to come out of Anfield losing by one goal, not two.
Q. If Emery can mastermind a miracle in the semi leg against Liverpool, where would reaching this final rank among the club's finest achievements? What would it mean to the supporters?
Zach: Making a Champions League Final after facing Bayern and this particular Liverpool team would be the most impressive thing any Villarreal side has ever done. Many Villarreal fans (and a few of the current players) were around when relegation happened not even ten years ago, so to have been on this journey with this club who builds their squad through intelligence and a focus on people is ultimately just the most fulfilling football supporter experience possible whether they overcome this hurdle or not.
Tonight's Champions League semi final second leg against Liverpool kicks off at 20.00 BST at the Estadio de la Ceramica, the home of Villarreal. British fans can tune in to watch the match on TV or via live stream with BT Sport to see if Unai Emery's men can overturn the 2-0 scoreline to reach their first ever UCL final.
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