Villarreal coach Unai Emery: knocking out Bayern Munich my greatest challenge

“The greatest challenge of my career,” Unai Emery called Tuesday's mission in Munich. It is a big call from a man with a long back catalogue of giant-killing feats.

How might a Villarreal who were to defend a 1-0 lead away at Bayern Munich - this evening’s task - compare with, say, a team who wins three successive Europa Leagues, which was the record-breaking achievement of Emery’s period as head coach of Sevilla?

That run included a final in which Liverpool were defeated. Or, more fresh in the memory, Emery’s march, with Villarreal, to last season’s Europa League, the manager’s fourth in the competition? Manchester United were the silver-medallists. Or would eliminating Bayern rank higher than winning 3-0 at Juventus, as Villarreal did last month?

He thinks so, and any Spaniard assessing the aura of the serial German champions in their Bavarian home, is inclined to regard them as the stiffest of challenges. Liga clubs have suffered there. Barcelona went to the Allianz Arena four months ago and lost 3-0. Atletico Madrid were there a year earlier, and lost 4-0, and the last time Bayern met Spanish opposition at this, the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, they put eight goals past Barcelona within a single 90 minutes.

So much for past form. By Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann’s admission, momentum has stalled for the Bundesliga leaders in the past two games. On Saturday, Augsburg were beaten by the minimum margin, and not until the 82nd minute, when Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty. Last Wednesday, they found no answers at Villarreal to Arnaut Danjuma’s early goal in a first leg that exhibited to the maximum Emery’s excellence as a planner and organiser of knockout matches.

“Villarreal made a mistake in