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As the final whistle blew — and Bayern Munich’s dejected superstars slumped to the ground — Villarreal’s substitutes raced onto the field to join the teammates who ousted the six-time European champions, Associated Press reported.

There would have been room enough in Bayern’s stadium for the entire population of Villarreal to celebrate with them Tuesday after the team reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2006. 

Such are the disparities in size and status between these clubs, that all 50,000 residents of the southeastern Spanish city could fit into Bayern’s 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena.

“We are a small city but they are strong players,” Villarreal coach Unai Emery said after his team earned a late 1-1 draw that secured a 2-1 aggregate victory in the quarterfinals.

Villarreal had won the first leg 1-0 at home when it squandered chances for an even bigger lead, and Bayern had leveled the aggregate score when Robert Lewandowski netted seven minutes into the second half. This time it was Bayern that missed chances to score again, and Samuel Chukwueze completed a counterattack in the 88th minute to extend Villarreal surprising run in the competition, according to the Associated Press.

“They made the mistake today of not killing us off and we took advantage of that,” Villarreal striker Gerard Moreno said. “What this team has done is great.”

Especially given that Villarreal only qualified for the Champions League by winning the Europa League and is seventh in the Spanish league after struggling domestically. Bayern, meanwhile, is the runaway Bundesliga leader.

And while Bayern lifted the European Cup in 2020, the furthest Villarreal has reached in the competition is the semifinals the single time in 2006.

“If you take just this game into account, without the first game, we should have gone through convincingly,” Bayern forward Thomas Müller said. “It’s difficult to accept this; I don’t know what to say.”

But the same resolve that saw Villarreal beat Manchester United on penalties in the 2021 Europa League final has now seen the team oust both Juventus and Bayern in the knockout phase of the Champions League, Associated Press reported.

There could be another six-time champion to eliminate to a reach a first Champions League final. Liverpool or Benfica awaits in the semifinals, with the English club holding a 3-1 lead over the Portuguese side heading into Wednesday’s second leg at Anfield.

Even when Lewandowski leveled the quarterfinal on aggregate — with a low shot after being set up by Müller — Villarreal continued to cause Bayern problems.

The decisive moment came when Dani Parejo gained possession by the Villarreal penalty area and then launched the breakaway by sending the ball to Giovani Lo Celso. Lo Celso then slid a pass across the face of goal and Chukwueze struck into the top corner of the net.

Villarreal was delirious and held out for the memorable win, according to the Associated Press.

“We knew we were going to suffer in defense but we were going to have our chances,” Moreno said. “And, in the end, Chukwueze was able to make the most of it. We want to thank those who came here tonight and those who are in Villarreal. It’s great to be a Villarreal fan, and you have to enjoy nights like this.”

Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 23 runs in their IPL match here on Tuesday, The Indian Express reported.

Invited to bat, CSK posted a massive 216 for 4 with Shivam Dube (95 not out off 46 balls) and Robin Uthappa (88 off 50 balls) sharing 165 runs for the third wicket, the highest this season.

For RCB, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva took two wickets while Josh Hazlewood got one. Chasing the huge target, RCB were restricted to 193 for 9, according to The Indian Express.

Ahmed top-scored for RCB with 41, while Dinesh Karthik and Suyash Prabhudessai chipped in with 34 each.

For CSK, Maheesh Theekshana took four wickets for 34 runs while Ravindra Jadeja got three.

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Gujarat Titans by eight wickets in their IPL game here on Monday, The Indian Express reported.

The Sunrisers chased down the target of 163 with five balls to spare with captain Kane Williamson top-scoring with a 57 while Nicholas Pooran remained not out on 34.

Young Abhishek Sharma made 42 at the top of the order before retiring hurt. For the Titans, Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan took a wicket each, according to The Indian Express.

Earlier, captain Pandya top-scored for the Titans with a 42-ball 50 not out while Abhinav Manohar chipped in with 35. For SRH, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan took two wickets apiece while Marco Jansen and Umran Malik got one each.

Manchester City retained its one-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the Premier League after a thrilling 2-2 draw between the title challengers on Sunday, Associated Press reported.

Kevin De Bruyne put the defending champions into the lead in the fifth minute at the Etihad Stadium but Diogo Jota leveled eight minutes later for Liverpool.

Gabriel Jesus restored City’s advantage before halftime but Sadio Mane marked his 30th birthday with a second equalizer for the 2020 champions.

Raheem Sterling thought he had put City ahead for a third time but a VAR offside call denied him a goal against his former club, according to the Associated Press.

The result ended Liverpool’s 10-match winning league run and left City with the destination of the title in its hands with seven games remaining.