Who would have thought that Villareal would heap Bayern Munich their first away defeat in the Champions League since 2017? In all fairness, I expected Bayern Munich to win this one but football surprised us once more and Bayern Munich were left leaving Spain in pain with their tails in between their legs. Villarreal produced a spirited performance and they are proving to be the dark horse of this tournament. I saw them and Benfica as the surprise of the season but with how Liverpool handled Benfica, I can't help but ask if Villareal can go all the way.
Bayern Munich with their wealth of experience, I expected a better performance away from home but Villarreal showed that they can't be pushed over and they weren't. Villarreal wasted 3 good chances that should have seen them put Bayern Munich to the sword but they wasted them and thanks to Davies' last-ditch effort to deny Moreno as well, Villarreal would have been clearly out of sight. It was the solitary strike from Danjuma that made the difference and gave Villareal a good advantage for the second leg.
The advantage is just a 1-0 lead and it can vanish as quickly as they gained it when they visit Bayern Munich in Germany except they produce another inspiring performance to silence the Bavarians.
Villarreal surprised me as they restricted Bayern Munich to half chances. Bayern Munich were not lucky on the night because nothing seemed to have worked for them but with this solitary goal, I feel Villareal has given Bayern Munich a fighting chance because we might see a different Bayern Munich for the second leg and we know how ruthlessly devastating Bayern Munich can be and with Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski still within their ranks with the trickery of Gnabry, they can overturn that deficit and advance to the next round.
It's a tricky game with nothing certain for the second leg but there is hope for Bayern Munich because the margin isn't that huge. I am only hoping that Villarreal won't regret the chances they missed in this first game because they should have been 4-0 up by the final whistle.
Chelsea v Real Madrid.
This is a wonderful victory for Real Madrid away from home and it's a healthy lead. Chelsea did themselves a favour by getting a goal that might help them for the second leg but Real Madrid holds the advantage for this round before Chelsea visits.
Chelsea hasn't been themselves for some weeks now with the problems rocking the club owner as well as the coach, not to talk of disgruntled Romelu Lukaku. It's a mixed season for Chelsea but I felt they would at least take confidence in the fact that they have gotten the better of Real Madrid before and give more fight for this game.
It was Benzema's hat-trick that finished off Chelsea. Benzema is showing why he is highly rated and must have been missed for the El Clasico defeat. Benzema is like a fine wine that gets better with age. He has gotten another hat-trick this season in the Champions League and this time around it came against Chelsea. Havertz scored the consolation goal but the focus would be on the mistake of Mendy that allowed Benzema to score the third goal.
I don't know if Chelsea can overturn this but we have seen football long enough to know that there is no game that cannot be overturned as long as it is still within the 90 minutes. It would be hard for Chelsea but not impossible and Real Madrid would know that the game is not over, so they would be looking for how to score the first goal at home because the moment they allow Chelsea to score first, there would be a renewed inspiration for Chelsea and who knows, they might score 3 goals without reply from Real Madrid.
Chelsea for schooled yet again but they played well. They missed quite a lot of chances too and the most notable one was from Romelu Lukaku when he was picked out inside the box and steered his header wide. They would hope to be more clinical for the second leg but Real Madrid would be ready too. Another cracker of a match is loading for us.
Thank you for your time.
My pen doesn't bleed, it speaks, with speed and ease.
Still me,
My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer.
Olawalium; (Love's chemical content, in human form). Take a dose today: doctor's order.
