In the first leg of the semi-finals of the Champions League, Liverpool not only were better, but smeared the opponent. " Villarreal " conceded two goals, although he could have picked up more, but he himself never hit the target. Even having missed, the Spaniards did not move away from the defensive style. It seemed that they had nothing to catch at home, but the team of Unai Emery surprised again.
Liverpool were on the verge of a huge sensation, but in time they grabbed their heads and fixed everything.
Villarreal did something incredible
The third minute of the match, nothing happens, the players slowly roll into the match. And then, bam - the mistake of the guests, a canopy from the left flank into the penalty area, and the players in yellow quickly score a goal, authored by Boulaye Dia. And it all started with the filing of Pervis Estupinan, who scored an own goal in the first meeting. Thus, "Villarreal" inflicted shots on target in three minutes more than in the entire previous match. It was not worth sinking the “yellow submarine” before the starting whistle!
Apparently, Unai Emery realized that the "bus" will not go far, because his team acted much more fun than in Liverpool. Even immediately after the goal, they approached Alisson Becker's goal a couple more times, and very dangerously! Closer to the middle of the half, it became calmer, the "Reds" more and more often possessed the ball. True, there was some kind of unjustified marriage in the passes - either Mane will give a pass to Jurgen Klopp, then Thiago will send the ball to no one knows where. But Alcantara had 97% of accurate passes in the first match.
The hosts were superior to the British in motion, but at first they didn’t know how to dispose of the ball in attack, they even decided to help Mane, almost giving them a goal - the Liverpool forward gave an unsuccessful pass back, Lo Celso went one on one with the goalkeeper, but Alisson saved.
However, a little later, Becker was powerless, and Villarreal screamed with euphoria. The "Yellows" carried out a cool attack through the right flank, a riding pass went to Francis Coquelin, and the Frenchman equalized the score in the confrontation with his head - 2:0 on the scoreboard and 2:2 on aggregate. It seems that such a crazy scenario is possible only in the Champions League.
Liverpool don't scare. These guys didn't see that
After the break, Diogo Jota, who was not seen in the first half, was replaced by Luis Diaz. The Colombian met with the ball much more often, aggravated, and in the 57th minute he had a great chance, but the blow fell above the gate.
The guests played brighter, apparently, Klopp gave a scolding after the first half, and in the 62nd minute, after a protracted positional attack, Liverpool still scored. But it was not the attacking player who distinguished himself, but midfielder Fabinho, flashing the goalkeeper with a strong blow. In the confrontation, meanwhile, the scales swung towards England.
In that meeting, Villarreal conceded two goals in two minutes, here he worked on himself and conceded two goals in five minutes. In the 67th minute, Liverpool equalized the score - the activity of the released Diaz bore fruit, Luis made the score 2-2 with a header.
Something fell apart in Emery's game, it didn't go according to plan. And the goalkeeper of the Spaniards Rulli had a hand in this. The goalkeeper of the hosts let the two previous strikes between the legs, he brought the third goal, being far from the frame. Mane rolled the ball into an empty net in the 75th minute, Rugli played unsuccessfully at the exit - 3:2.
Finished the hosts meeting in the minority. Capu, who scored an assistant double, received a second yellow card. For the most part, it didn't mean anything. Villarreal was close to making a big splash, but Klopp and his Liverpool can easily take out the main intriguer of the tournament in a matter of minutes.
Now Liverpool have a good chance of four titles in a season and are waiting for an opponent in the main European tournament. On May 4, the second ticket will be played by Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Champions League. Semifinal. return match
Villarreal (Spain) - Liverpool (England) - 2:3 (2:0)
Goals: Dia, 3 ( VIDEO ). Coquelin, 41 ( VIDEO ). — Fabinho, 62 ( VIDEO ). Diaz, 67 ( VIDEO ). Manet, 74 ( VIDEO ).
Removal: Kapu, 85.
First match - 0:2