A late equaliser from substitute Samuel Chukwueze helped Villarreal draw 1-1 with Bayern Munich and book the semifinals after moving 2-1 on aggregate in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
Sending a strong message to Barcelona, Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn squashed all reports that legendary striker Robert Lewandowski is set to move to Camp Nou this summer. Kahn said the Poland international will "definitely" be with the Bavarian organisation in 2022-23 and added that it would be crazy to think otherwise.
"We definitely have Robert with us for another season. We know what we have in him, and we're relaxed about it. Apparently, there's a competition out there: 'Who will tell the biggest nonsense story about Robert Lewandowski? Talks will continue. We're not crazy and are [not] discussing the transfer of a player who scores between 30 and 40 goals with us every season," Kahn told Amazon Prime.
The Polish is enjoying another standout season at Bayern Munich, surpassing 30 league goals for the third straight campaign. After being controversially snubbed for the 2021 Ballon d'Or, Lewandowski has shown little signs of slowing down. He's scored 47 goals in all competitions and delivered four assists as Bayern Munich has taken a commanding lead in the Bundesliga title race.
Oliver Kahn's comments came on the sidelines of Villarreal's 1-1 draw with the Bundesliga giants and booked their semifinals berth after moving 2-1 on aggregate in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
Lewandowski had put Bayern ahead on the night to level the tie on aggregate after Villarreal's 1-0 first-leg win, and extra time loomed until Samuel Chukwueze struck. Unai Emery's Villarreal continued their remarkable European run, having also surprised Juventus in the last 16 with a 3-0 win in Turin. The result means Bayern Munich exited the Champions League in the quarterfinals for the second year running.
Bayern Munich CEO Kahn, however, is not going to throw a fit over the shocking Champions League exit. The legendary goalkeeper simply wants to focus on the positives and move forward. "Of course, it's always disappointing when you concede a goal just before the end. We could have made it 2-0 before. You can't really blame the team. They tried everything. There aren't many more uncomfortable teams to play against than Villarreal," Kahn said.
"You can hardly show more will than what the team showed today. We were eliminated in the quarterfinals, but we won't burst into tears now. We have another opportunity next year and will try to use it. We will now focus on the league and throw everything into it," the Bayern Munich CEO added.
Villarreal is into the semifinals for the first time since 2006. They will play either Liverpool or Benfica in the last four. The English side takes a 3-1 lead into Wednesday's second leg at Anfield. "We suffered against Juventus, we suffered against Bayern, but we are now in the semifinals. Now we can dream of going even further," said Villarreal captain Raul Albiol, the man-of-the-match in Munich.
Meanwhile, Bayern forward Thomas Mueller said, "It is extremely bitter that we concede a goal despite this performance. We pressed, pressed, pressed, and there was no way we were going to concede a goal."