Ex-Bournemouth star Arnaut Danjuma puts Bayern on brink of Champions League exit

Former Bournemouth winger Arnaut Danjuma was the unlikely hero last night as Villarreal took a giant step towards the Champions League semi-final with a shock victory over the mighty Bayern Munich.

The Netherlands international's eighth-minute goal was enough to separate the two sides at Estadio de la Ceramica with Unai Emery's men fully deserving of the spoils.

This time last year Danjuma was netting Bournemouth's second goal in a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, and yesterday his instinctive close-range finish put 30-time Bundesliga winners Bayern to the sword leaving Villarreal on the brink of equalling their best ever run in Europe.

The Spaniards will take their slender advantage to the Allianz Arena next week, and while Bayern have a habit of turning on the style in the home leg (just ask Red Bull Salzburg), it'd be silly for Villarreal not to feel a little optimistic, especially after neutralising Robert Lewandowski so effectively.

They might be a bit off the pace in La Liga at the moment, but Emery's side have developed into one of the most well-oiled knockout machines in Europe.

They toppled both Arsenal and Manchester United en route to winning the Europa League last season and gave Chelsea a serious run for their money in the Super Cup final – losing on penalties – and their 3-0 thrashing of Juventus in Turin last month will certainly give Bayern pause for thought.

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Danjuma signed for the Cherries in 2019 following an unremarkable stint with Belgian outfit Club Brugge, and found it hard to nail down a first-team spot in Eddie Howe's struggling side. He finished his first season in English football with zero goals in 15 games as Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League.

Though it was arguably the best thing that could have happened to Danjuma, who came alive in the Championship. He ended the campaign with 17 goals in 37 matches and even notched 10 goal contributions in a single month before being deservedly named Bournemouth's player of the year.

He was suddenly a big fish in a small pond and when the Cherries were beaten in the play-offs – Danjuma's departure seemed inevitable. Because it was no desertion, there would've plenty of proud faces on the south coast last night.

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