LONDON: With three different coaches in three seasons, the result remains the same for Juventus: three straight eliminations at home in the Champions League round of 16.

Europa League champions Villarreal scored three late goals to secure a stunning 3-0 second-leg victory at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Wednesday, condemning the Serie A side to a 4-1 aggregate loss while advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time in 13 years.

In-form Juve, who had lost just once in their last 21 matches in all competitions, were firm favourites to progress following a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

But substitute Gerard Moreno converted a penalty in the 78th minute to break the deadlock. Then Pau Torres was left unmarked to redirect in a corner before Arnaut Danjuma added another spot kick to complete a famous win for Unai Emery’s team.

“It’s a magical night,” said Moreno to Movistar+. “We thought we could do it, we’ve always shown that in the big games we compete, the team gives its best... we all want to be in there with the best in Europe, we’re going to keep dreaming and we’re going to do it together.”

An embarrassing loss was just Juve’s second since the end of November and punctures a dogged run of form which has put them back into the league title race at home.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side were loudly booed off by the home crowd who watched their team shrink from a promising start and bounce off a yellow wall before being bundled out of the competition.

“I think the team played well for over 75 minutes,” Juve coach Allegri said to Amazon Prime. “In the second half, Villarreal decided to just put themselves behind the ball and then a single episode changed the match. These things happen in football and we have to accept this heavy loss.”

Allegri returned to Juve this season after Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo coached the Bianconeri during defeats to Olympique Lyonnais and FC Porto at this stage over the last two seasons, respectively.

Including a quarter-final defeat to Ajax in 2019, it’s the fourth straight time that Juve have been knocked out after a home second-leg match.

In Wednesday’s other match, defending champions Chelsea made light of their off-pitch problems to beat Lille 2-1 away to complete a 4-1 aggregate victory.

The Premier League side, playing amid sanctions imposed on their Russian owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, eased through thanks to goals by Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta.

French champions Lille dominated for long spells at their Stade Pierre Mauroy and opened the scoring thanks to a Burak Yilmaz penalty in the opening half, but lacked precision up front and paid dearly for lapses in concentration.

“The players can be really proud because they played really well against a great team. We didn’t deserve to lose tonight,” insisted Lille coach Jocelyn Gourvennec.

Chelsea, operating on a special licence from the British government that has limited their spending and impacted their operations, showed great composure to ease into the last eight.

“Everyone is calm at the club. The club’s culture is about football. Football is the priority at Chelsea, that’s why we’re focused on what happens on the pitch,” Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel told RMC Sport.

The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on Friday. Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Benfica also advanced to the last eight.

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Juve dominated the first half and were unfortunate not to go into the break in front after Dusan Vlahovic’s brilliant flicked effort came back off the crossbar, but they could not keep up the pressure in the second period.

Villarreal were content to sit back and wait for their moment, which came after the visitors were awarded a penalty following a VAR review which determined that Juve defender Daniele Rugani fouled Francis Coquelin with substitute Moreno, who had only just come on, squeezing the spot kick home.

Juve threw on Argentine striker Paulo Dybala as they looked to level the tie but when Torres pushed home the second from Serge Aurier’s cross in the 85th minute the game was well and truly up.

The boos began to ring around the stadium, and they only got louder when Matthijs de Ligt charged down Danjuma’s shot with his arm in the closing moments and the Netherlands international made it a perfect evening for Villarreal, and a nightmare for Juve.

OFF-FIELD WOES

Much remains uncertain about Chelsea’s future, but for now the reigning champions are through to the quarter-finals.

Reeling from the impact of UK government sanctions imposed on Abramovich, the London club appeared rattled as they fell when behind to Yilmaz’s penalty in the 38th minute following a VAR review after a Jorginho handball in the area.

Lille, who had not conceded a goal in their three Ligue 1 games since their 2-0 first leg defeat, let their guard down, however, and Chelsea punished them with their first shot on target as Pulisic collected a fine through ball from Jorginho to score with a low shot three minutes into first-half stoppage time.

Lilles hopes were dashed for good when Azpilicueta beat goalkeeper Leo Jardim at the end of a good spell of possession after 71 minutes. Left unmarked, the former Marseille player connected with a cross from Mount and sent the ball into the net with his right knee.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2022