After a first half dominated by the home side, Villarreal took the lead shortly after the break when a mistake by Ferland Mendy presented the ball to Gerard Moreno at the edge of the area and he squared left to Yeremi Pino to beat Thibaut Courtois.

Real were level just before the hour mark when a penalty was given for an inadvertent handball from Juan Foyth in the box and Karim Benzema converted.

Another spot kick proved to be the winner as just four minutes later, a ball from Foyth was handled by the falling David Alaba and Gerard Moreno netted the crucial goal.

Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr both had gilt-edged chances to equalise in the closing stages but Villarreal managed to hold on for a win which lifts them level on points with fourth-place Atletico Madrid while Real are still behind leaders Barcelona on goal difference.

Former Arsenal boss Emery, who had been in charge of Spanish club Villarreal, will take over at Villa on 1 November.

Villa have paid a £5.2m buyout fee to Villarreal for the 50-year-old.

Caretaker Aaron Danks will again take charge at Newcastle this weekend, after Gerrard was dismissed last week following a 3-0 Premier League defeat by Fulham.

Emery, who would have been out of contract at Villarreal next summer, will begin work next week “after his work permit formalities are completed,” Villa said.

They added: “Aston Villa is delighted to announce the appointment of Unai Emery as the club’s new head coach.

“A highly experienced top level coach who has managed over 900 games, Unai has also previously managed in the Premier League during a spell with Arsenal, leading the Gunners to a Europa League final.

“He has also enjoyed notable success at Sevilla and at Paris St-Germain. In Seville, he won three successive Europa League titles between 2013 and 2016 before going on to lift a Ligue 1 championship in France as well as two French Cups, two French League Cups and two Trophees des Champions.”

Emery joined Villarreal in 2020 and led them to Europa League success in the 2020-21 season, beating Manchester United in the final.

The Spanish club also reached last year’s Champions League semi-finals under Emery, losing 5-2 to Liverpool on aggregate.

Emery’s Villarreal appointment followed his sacking after just 18 months as Arsenal manager in November 2019, after failing to win in seven games – the Gunners’ worst run at the time since February 1992.

During his time in north London he took Arsenal to the Europa League final, losing to Chelsea in 2019.

Villa beat Brentford 4-0 on Sunday under caretaker Danks – just their third win in 12 Premier League games this season – which left them 14th, three points above the relegation zone.

The club had also held talks with representatives of Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorin.

The Reds had comfortably won 2-0 in the first leg but that advantage was wiped out after only 41 minutes at a noisy and passionate El Madrigal as the Spanish side pushed for a huge upset.

At the hour mark it was still 2-2 on aggregate, but Fabinho, half-time substitute Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane scored to send Liverpool to Paris – where they will play either Real Madrid or Manchester City.

Liverpool survived a scare against Villarreal to comfortably book their place in a third Champions League final in the last five years.

Basketball superstar and huge Liverpool fan, LeBron James who regularly posted about his beloved side was quick to tweet his delight after the full-time whistle.

This victory means Liverpool have become the first English club to reach the final of the European Cup/Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season.

Mason Mount’s wonderful finish and Antonio Rudiger’s powerful header wiped out Real’s 3-1 first-leg advantage and brought the quarter-final tie level in Spain’s capital.

Thomas Tuchel’s side was within sight of a spot in the semi- finals when Timo Werner’s clever finish from an angle put them ahead for the first time on aggregate but substitute Rodrygo forced extra time with a volleyed finish after a stunning pass from Luka Modric.

Karim Benzema, a hat-trick hero in the first leg at Stamford Bridge six days earlier, headed the decisive goal in the 96th minute to send Real through 5-4 on aggregate.

However, Tuchel says there are “no regrets” after holders Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in a classic clash.

“These are the kinds of defeat we can digest and swallow as we left nothing to regret out there,” said boss Tuchel.

“It was not meant to be. We were simply unlucky.”

Social media reacts to Chelsea’s Champions League exit in epic return leg:

Villareal stun Bayern Munich to qualify for semi finals

Bayern Munich were sent crashing out of the Champions League as Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th-minute strike secured a dramatic 2-1 aggregate victory for underdogs Villarreal.

Substitute Chukwueze, finished off a rapid counter-attack when he converted Gerard Moreno’s cross to silence the Allianz Arena as Bayern were eliminated at the quarter-final stage for the second year in a row.

They will face the winner of Liverpool versus Benfica in the last four, a contest Jurgen Klopp’s side currently leads 3-1 on aggregate.

Some fans reacted following Villareal’s outstanding effort: