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Failed and disappointed: Thomas Müller, Robert Lewandowski
Photo: Angelika Warmuth / dpa
First oppressive, then depressed:
Thomas Müller seemed as if he was still in the process of fully understanding the last two hours, when he had to analyze Bayern's Champions League elimination.
"From the start we pushed, pushed, pushed with the fans behind us," said the man who set up a goal and just missed a goal of his own.
“A goal was definitely not in the air.” In fact, the Bavarians had constricted the opponent in their own penalty area.
And yet it sometimes looked as if Bayern wanted to press a square shape into a round opening: many crosses, few ideas, in the end only four shots at the FC Villarreal goal.
Bayern wanted, but couldn't.
Yet again.
The result:
After the 0-1 draw at the Estadio de la Cerámica, FC Bayern Munich should have won their home game against FC Villarreal.
But more than a 1: 1 (0: 0) was not possible.
The Munich side are eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and miss the “minimum goal” of reaching the semi-finals that coach Julian Nagelsmann called for.
Here is the match report.
The man with the plan:
The line-up sheet had the first twist of the evening: no Alphonso Davies, no Omar Richards, just three defenders.
Julian Nagelsmann lived up to his image as a tinkerer, set up an enormous offensive beyond the French defenders Lucas Hernández, Dayot Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard and gave his team a clearly recognizable game idea along the way: Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sané should cause danger on the wings , preferably through crosses with a lot of cutting to the goal.
The first half:
Based on this blueprint, Bayern started the game promisingly, the ball repeatedly sailed from the half field into the penalty area, where many Reds moved up.
However, the yield remained moderate, also because FC Villarreal presented itself as excellently organized as in the first leg coup.
Étienne Capoue, a tall midfielder for Unai Emery's side, kept coming up as an extra man in the chain.
Only rarely did Bayern come behind the defensive or to finish, only Jamal Musiala's central header (29th) required Geronimo Rulli to make a save at all.
Does he stay?
Before the game, there was one topic in particular: world footballer Robert Lewandowski.
There had been wild rumors of change the day before, and a farewell to FC Barcelona was the subject of speculation.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn vigorously rejected the reports, speaking of a "competition for the biggest nonsense story".
On the pitch, Lewandowski's early departure almost happened in a different way: Bayern striker Villarreal's Raúl Albiol landed twice in a rustic manner (33rd/36th), and there was only a yellow card for the first offense.
The second half:
A tame first half, in which the attacking stars Müller and Lewandowski only touched the ball eight and thirteen times respectively, was followed by Bayern with significantly more verve.
Musiala's attempt to put the ball past Rulli with his heel (46'), a Sané free-kick (49') and Upamecano's shot attempt after a corner (50') brought more danger in five minutes than in the first 45. As Kingsley Coman then also intercepted a pass, Müller and Lewandowski punished the unsorted Spaniards (52nd) and Bayern took the lead, the game seemed to tilt in favor of the favorites.
But Müller missed the opportunity to decide with a header (72') - and the disaster took its course.
The man at the periscope:
Villarreal's Spiritus Rector played a large part in both goals.
Dani Parejo, a cliche of the Spanish midfielder at its best.
Parejo is the man at the periscope in the "Yellow Submarine" Villarreal, the one who sees things on the pitch that others don't see: calm, precise, outstanding in passing.
This time, the 32-year-old made the wrong pass before the 0: 1, a lapse that is not typical for Parejo.
Before the equalizer, Parejo showed how he had actually imagined the scene: With a clever move, the six created space and sent Giovani Lo Celso on the journey.
He drove the ball to Gerard Moreno, and because Alphonso Davies canceled the offside without getting to Samuel Chukwueze in time, he scored his joker goal (88').
The mood:
For Villarreal, a success story continues: Under Emery, the Europa League winner of the previous season is still undefeated in knockout games and has stopped the greatest success in the club's history, Villarreal last stood in the 2005/05 season Among the top four clubs in Europe in 2006.
For Bayern, however, the season can probably be considered a failure despite an almost certain championship.
In particular, the question of how two such harmless appearances could come about despite the clearly better individual players should be on Nagelsmann's mind for a while.