Liverpool vs Villarreal a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
May 6, 2016
1,632 Views

- Liverpool have booked their place in the Europa League Final with a convincing win over Villarreal last night
- Daniel Sturridge was the hero and after his brace last night would have gone some way to getting back into Jurgen Klopp’s good books
- Jurgen Klopp’s side had a 1-0 deficit to overturn from the first leg and the lineup suggested that they would be going all out attack from the start
- Although it was Villarreal who started the brightest with Simon Mignolet being forced into an early save after just 3 minutes
- Liverpool would have wanted an early goal to give them more time to apply pressure on Villarreal and within 7 minutes they got just what they were after
- Alphonse Areola poorly parried an effort out to the feet of Roberto Firmino who then played a perfect pass to Daniel Sturridge to slot home
- It ended up taking a final touch off of Bruno Soriano but anyone connected with Liverpool wouldn’t have cared all that much
- Villarreal now had their backs to the walls for next 83 minutes
- Liverpool were relentless in the pressing and didn’t give The Yellow Submarine a moments peace in the first half
- Dejan Lovren broke up countless attacks and the turnover of play from Defence to Attack was impressive
- He fed a pass to James Milner whose excellent ball found Adam Lallana in the box but he couldn’t quite get enough on his effort as it rolled past Areola’s post
- Villarreal were reduced to half chances as Liverpool went in search of the goal that would have put them ahead in the tie
- Liverpool’s attacking style would obviously leave a risk of conceding an away goal which would then turn the game on it’s head but the Anfield Roar was trying to suck the ball into the goal
- And on 63 minutes the breakthrough moment again, Sturridge’s shot from close range hit the post but luckily for him rolled over the line to give Liverpool a deserved lead in the tie
- Now they just had to make sure they didn’t concede in the last 25 minutes to go
- Their cause was helped by the sending off of Victor Ruiz with 20 minutes to go due to two bookable offence – his first booking was for dissent, his second for a late challenge which gave the Referee no other option but to show a second yellow
- And the moments later the icing was on the cake as Lallana proded home from short range to wrap things up and secure a final berth against defending champions Sevilla
- Liverpool were rapid in attack but showed a steeliness at the back. Emre Can was impressive after returning from injury quicker than expected
- The solid Defence gave the rest of the side a real confidence to surge forward in search of goals
- If Klopp maybe got his selection wrong in the first leg then he certainly got it right last night
- They are just one win away from the Champions League now and silverware in Klopp’s first season in charge
- But Sevilla who have won this competition 4 times in the last 10 years will not be an easy nut to crack
- It will make for an interesting final in less than a fortnights time
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