LIVERPOOL
\nVillarreal know they won\u2019t have the luxury of being taken lightly by Liverpool in their Champions League semi-final first leg but they are convinced they can spring another surprise on Wednesday.
\nAfter knocking out Juventus in the last 16 and beating Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, Villarreal are looking to pull off another shock by defeating Liverpool, the six-time European champions and favourites for this year\u2019s tournament.
\nManager Unai Emery believes his team no longer have the element of surprise in their bid to reach their first Champions League final but said on Tuesday that his side will need to execute a perfect game to eliminate the former winners.
\n\u201cThe surprise factor decreases after you do what we did,\u201d Emery told a news conference at Anfield as he prepares his side for Wednesday\u2019s match. \u201cLiverpool know that we are here because we have been able to compete. For us, that means the challenge is greater.
\n\u201cAgainst Juve there were certain moments when their reaction didn\u2019t come through. Against Bayern, from behind, we were able to find our best version and use that background to overcome them. And that is no longer present. Whoever reaches the semi-finals are here because they have deserved it.\u201d
\nThe Spaniard conceded that Liverpool, who have won the Champions League six times, would rightfully count themselves as favourites for the tie, but that his side were hungry for more success having won the Europa League last season.
\n\u201cThey are wise and now they know who we are. They know that the tie is going to be difficult and they will be prepared, no doubt about it,\u201d Emery said. \u201cBut it is inevitable for them to feel as the favourites, as it is normal, their potential is massive.
\n\u201cBut we have greater motivation and enthusiasm. It\u2019s Liverpool, I think the best Liverpool that I have known, but I take that as motivation to play the perfect game and to beat Liverpool at their best.
\n\u201cThe journey does not have to end, we want to be in charge, to create chances. In normal conditions they are superior to us but we have our own ideas, individually and as a team, to allow us to compete.\u201d
\nVillarreal sit seventh in La Liga but have a knack for upsetting Europe\u2019s biggest teams, after also prevailing against Arsenal and Manchester United to win the Europa League last year.
\n\u201cWe have complete confidence,\u201d said captain Dani Parejo in Tuesday\u2019s press conference. \u201cOn the basis of the teams we have beaten, not only this year, but also last year in the Europa League, and now the journey we have had in this Champions League.
\n\u201cWe are calm and we look at the group we have — we have good individuals but our greatest strength is the team. Knocking out Juventus and Bayern was very important for us because it showed we can reach a level where we can compete with these teams.\u201d
\nEmery has faced Liverpool twice at Anfield and lost both times, 5-1 and 3-1, when he was Arsenal manager but Liverpool have been stung by Emery in the past — his Sevilla side won the Europa League final 3-1 in manager Juergen Klopp\u2019s first season in England.
\nSince then, the Reds have lifted their sixth European Cup, in 2019, and ended a 30-year wait to win the Premier League title.
\nThe Reds have the chance to clinch an unprecedented quadruple this season after having already won the League Cup and reaching the FA Cup final, while they trail Premier League leaders Manchester City by one point with five games to play.
\nVictory over the Yellow Submarine would mean a third Champions League final in five seasons for Liverpool.
\nKlopp said that Juventus and Bayern may have underestimated Villarreal but his team will not make the same mistake.
\n\u201cThere might have been a slight advantage [for Villarreal] where Juve or Bayern might have underestimated them but that won\u2019t happen with us. They want to be part of the final but it\u2019s the same importance for us,\u201d Klopp told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s special. It\u2019s crazy \u2014 a massive game. So many coaches, players work their socks off their whole lives and don\u2019t get close to this. We have to cherish it and enjoy it.\u201d
\nLiverpool last featured in this stage of the competition three years ago, against Barcelona, and Klopp said that home support, which helped them turn around a 3-0 deficit from the first leg in 2019, would be crucial.
\n\u201cWe need a similar atmosphere and a big performance. I need to be on top of my game, so do the boys, that is fine. If a semi-final in this competition would be easy, something would be really wrong. I can\u2019t wait for it, to be honest,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are moments when we will suffer and I know that. We don\u2019t need to get nervous but we can make them suffer too.\u201d
\nThe German lavished praise on counterpart Emery, calling him a \u201cworld-class coach\u201d whose team are adept at dealing with different game situations.
\n\u201cWe have properly analysed Villarreal. I have proper respect for Unai and them. I watched them properly and wow! Impressive. He is a detail-obsessed manager. Different ways to press and react to different results,\u201d added Klopp. \u201cThey\u2019re made for this competition to be honest because the way they set it up it\u2019s really, really good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LIVERPOOL Villarreal know they won\u2019t have the luxury of being taken lightly by Liverpool in their Champions League semi-final first leg but they are convinced they can spring another surprise on Wednesday. After knocking out Juventus in the last 16 and beating Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, Villarreal are looking to pull off another shock […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-257852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n