Electric winger Liverpool reportedly once bid £29m for has just set up a potential UCL semi-final with them

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Villarreal have knocked out Bayern Munich, setting up a potential semi-final with Liverpool. The Reds once tried to sign the match-winner.

Villarreal shocked the football world on Tuesday evening as they knocked Bayern Munich out of the Champions League. Carrying a 1-0 lead to Bavaria, the Spaniards rescued a late 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena, putting them through to the semi-finals.

They’ll now face either Liverpool or Benfica, of course. The Reds are massive favourites to progress, having already won 3-1 in Portugal. Avoid a two-goal defeat at home and they’ll meet Villarreal.

Liverpool could face Villarreal

It took an 88th-minute equaliser from Villarreal to secure their aggregate win and, funnily enough, the goalscorer is a player Liverpool reportedly wanted to sign. Samuel Chukwueze got the goal from a Gerard Moreno cross, finishing powerfully beyond Manuel Neuer.

But could he have been scoring in Red? France Football reported back in early 2020 that Liverpool had actually bid £29m to sign Chukwueze from Villarreal.

They were knocked back, however, as the club wanted £54m for the Nigerian. We felt that was far too much money at the time – and it’s safe to say Liverpool did, too.

Time has since proven that correct – Chukwueze isn’t actually a regular starter for Villarreal. This was only his fifth goal of the season, too, to go along with three assists. The now-22-year-old didn’t fare much better last season, either, with just five goals and six assists across La Liga and the Europa League.

He hasn’t quite gone on to be the star player many predicted. Certainly not a player who carries £54m of value.

But he might get the chance to show Liverpool what they could have had. Bar a catastrophic result tonight, the Reds will face Chukwueze in the Champions League semi-finals this year.