Villarreal flies high thanks to waste goods

Though underrated, Villarreal in turn beat Juventus and Bayern in the last two knockout rounds. Thanks to that, they reached the fourth round of the strongest teams in the Champions League for the second time, and faced the opportunity to go further than the first time in 2006.

Villarreal’s current team has five players who have failed to live up to expectations in the Premier League, more specifically in shirt colors. Arsenal and Tottenham. However, under Emery’s kneading hands, all five are revived and are dreaming with “Golden Submarine” to make history.

Under the Villarreal defense, Serge Aurier is living the best days of his career, despite leaving Tottenham as a miserable failure. The London club could not sell him completely in the summer of 2021 and decided to liquidate on the last day of the transfer window. Aurier was unemployed for a month before being signed by Villarreal in October 2021 on a contract until the end of the season with a two-year extension. And since then, the Ivory Coast right-back has flourished. Aurier has played 17 matches, including 14 in La Liga and three in the Champions League, with two assists divided equally between the two competitions.

Juan Foyth was also a major disappointment at Tottenham before finding a career lifeline with Villarreal. Joining the London club in 2017 with high expectations, but Foyth could not transform from a talented young player to a sudden star. The Argentine defender was loaned by Villarreal in the summer of 2020, and was bought permanently last year. Foyth played just 32 games in his three years at Tottenham, mostly in Cup competitions, but made 63 appearances for Villarreal in less than two seasons.

Villarreal’s midfield this season marks the rhythmic coordination and powerful combat maneuvers from the pair Francis Coquelin – Etienne Capoue.

Coquelin joined Arsenal’s academy at the age of 17, but was seen as a defective product. In 10 years on the payroll of “Gunners”, he played 160 matches. The French midfielder joined Valencia in 2018, then joined Villarreal two years later. With the exception of a two-month break with a Achilles tendon injury, Coquelin is Emery’s top midfield choice.

Capoue has featured in all of Villarreal’s 10 Champions League games this season, providing two assists and scoring twice personally. The French midfielder arrived at Villarreal after six successful years with Watford. But before that, this midfielder played for Tottenham for two seasons, and could not compete for the official position and only played 36 times.

Unlike the four teammates mentioned above, Giovani Lo Celso is playing for Villarreal on loan. The Argentine midfielder joined Tottenham on loan from Real Betis in 2019, then the London club bought it permanently a year later.

But due to not being able to squeeze into the main squad, Lo Celso returned to Spain in January 2022 to play for Villarreal. Since then, he has played 15 times, including nine in La Liga and four in the Champions League. Villarreal is satisfied with Lo Celso’s performance and will likely offer to buy him outright in the summer of 2022.

Of the five players mentioned above, Juan Foyth, Etienne Capoue, Lo Celso played the full 90 minutes, Coquelin left the field in the 84th minute, and Aurier replaced Daniel Parejo at the end of the 1-1 draw at Bayern in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League evening. 12/4. This result helped Villarreal win the final 2-1, going to meet Liverpool in the semi-finals today.

Hong Duy (according to Sun Sports)