There were two Liverpool on Tuesday night in Spain. The first in the first period who suffered the onslaught of Villarreal in this semi-final second leg of the Champions League, and who saw his two-goal lead acquired in the first leg in England melt before the break. And the second, much more solid and conquering, who scored three away goals to calm the ardor of the yellow submarine and qualify (2-3) for the final at the Stade de France on May 28.
“It was easy to progress in the second period, we were so bad in the first,” admitted Reds coach Jürgen Klopp at the microphone of Canal +. At first, we were impressed by them. We weren’t building anything. We weren’t playing in the right spaces. We were throwing long balls and forcing our game, continued the German technician at a press conference. At the break, we explained to the boys that we had to be stronger and move smarter. We weren’t moving enough. We couldn’t find our circles. Our three attackers were arrested. »
After reframing his men in the Madrigal locker room, Jürgen Klopp also brought in Luis Diaz, decisive with a goal and constant pressure on the Villarreal defense. But overall, it was all of Liverpool who took control of the game to give themselves another chance to win the C1 at the end of the month.
“We deserved it, but this victory really comes from a huge performance by the boys. Coming back from a 2-0… I didn’t want us to defend the result of the first leg, but to go for the victory, continued Klopp. Before the game, I told the players that I would like to read as headlines monsters of the mind. I didn’t see that in the first half, but it did in the second. »