A real scare! The English ogre Liverpool, announced arch-favorite of its semi-final of the Champions League against the modest ” yellow submarine » Spaniard from Villarreal, and title contender, faltered for 45 minutes, Tuesday evening May 3, on his opponent’s lawn, before establishing his superiority.
The French players of Villarreal were first at the party. It was an Oyonnaxien who opened the scoring against the Reds who were then overwhelmed and surprised; in the third minute of the match, and after an acrobatic delivery from Niortais Etienne Capoue, Boulaye Dia squared Alisson. And the first period ended favorably with a whim from Francis Coquelin on a new serve from Capoue (40and). At the break, Villareal can dream of qualifying – in the first leg, the English won at home 2-0.
But the awakening is brutal, the British reaction taking shape on the return from the locker room. The Reds, well helped it is true by the mistakes of the opposing goalkeeper, Geronimo Rulli, find the net three times thanks to Fabinho (62and), Luis Diaz (67and), and Sadio Mané (74and).
Magnificent epic for Unai Emery gamers
The Spanish family club, which plays in a city of 50,000 inhabitants, however modest it may be, has always believed in its chances of reaching the final. Witness the “If it’s puede!” » (” If it’s possible “, in Spanish) chanted by the supporters who had taken their seats in the Ceramica stadium well before kick-off; their encouragement redoubled in intensity to salute Capua’s two assists, the Frenchman being unfortunately sent off in the 86thand minute after a second yellow card.
“We are already going through a historic moment”said Villarreal coach Unai Emery on Monday at a pre-match press conference. “But Tuesday, we will not play just to be proud. We will play to qualify for the final.he had warned.
After resisting Manchester United in the pools, and after knocking out Juventus Turin and Bayern Munich in the previous knockout rounds, the men in yellow almost offered themselves another benchmark victory. But the epic ends there. “It hurts us, for our audience, for what we did. We made incredible efforts, we tried until the end, but their first goal hurt us, and in the second half, physically, they were superior. Villarreal captain Raul Albiol explained.
A tenth Champions League final
The Liverpool club can still be described as unsinkable, after this incredible turnaround that saved them from resounding disillusionment. The English club thus obtains its ticket for the Stade de France, on May 28, with the hope of winning a seventh title. Reds fans dream of it, and the “best team in the world”as Unai Emery called it on Monday, only has this match to win to justify this title.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will have to wait twenty-four hours to know their opponent: Manchester City, winner 4-3 in an epic first leg, travels Wednesday (at 9 p.m.) to the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium to face the “king of Europe”, Real Madrid and its thirteen continental crowns.