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UCL: Emery ‘proud’ as Chukwueze’s Villarreal stun Juventus, Chelsea dismiss Lille

VILLAREAL manager Unai Emery was full of praise for his team after their shock 3-0 win over Juventus in Turin in the second leg of their round of 16 UEFA Champions League tie.

Villarreal advanced to the quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate, condemning Maximiliano Allegri’s side to yet another early Champions League exit.

Gerard Moreno, Pau Torres and Arnaut Danjuma struck late, the first goal coming in the 78th minute, to stun the Juventus Stadium crowd into silence.

Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze was a 65th minute substitute for Yeremy Pino and the Nigerian played his part in the big win.

“I’m proud of everything; for Spanish football, for Villarreal and for getting into the quarter-finals of this competition for the first time as a coach,” Emery said in his post-match interview.

Gerard Moreno, who came on as a substitute to score the first goal from the penalty spot, said: “I actually missed the last penalty I took in a game, but everyone had my back and I knew I was going to score. Never in doubt!”

The result equals Juve’s heaviest ever loss at home in Europe, although they conceded a goal more in their 4-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in the 2008/09 group stage.

While Juve were eliminated in the Champions League at the round of 16 stage for the third season running.

Villarreal had won just two of their previous 11 matches in the knockout phase (six draws, three losses).

In the other Champions League fixture on the night, Chelsea came from behind to beat their hosts Lille 2-1.

The champions progressed 3-1 on aggregate after Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta’s strikes cancelled out Burak Yilmaz’s penalty.

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