Villareal with a lot of will and courage
Coach Unai Emery’s side were subsequently unrecognizable compared to the first leg. Villarreal played courageously, offensively, actively and dangerously almost all the time. All of the defensive-tactical constraints that visibly paralyzed the team a week ago seemed to have been wiped away.
And Liverpool? The Klopp team was very impressed by this will, this dynamism, this pressure from the hosts. But the “Reds” nevertheless for a good half hour and with a lot of effort to keep the Spaniards away from their own goal. Until Villarreal appeared alone in front of the case through Lo Celso. Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson (37th) was able to defuse this possibility with a fantastic save.
But four minutes later the time had finally come: After a cross from Étienne Capoue, Francis Coquelin headed in from five meters to make it 2-0. The Spaniards managed to equalize from both games and the game was now completely open.
The passivity of the Spaniards quickly takes revenge
At the beginning of the second half, Liverpool tried to attack earlier, to free themselves from the grip. But Villareal kept the intensity constant at first, annoying the Klopp team and barely letting them get into the game once. After a deflected long-range shot by Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Spaniards were lucky that the ball fell off the crossbar and went wide (55′). After that shot, Liverpool suddenly took control of the game,
Villarreal only defended the lead. The Spaniards had to pay tribute to their high pace up until then. And this sudden passivity was to take revenge quickly. Fabinho made it 2-1 for Liverpool from a tight angle (62′). After that, the Spaniards seemed to have lost their breath, as if someone had pulled the plug on them. Just five minutes later, Luis Diaz equalized with a header to make it 2-2. After 74 minutes, Sadio Mané even scored to make it 3-2 after a counterattack.
The Spaniards had nothing to oppose the cool English. Villarreal had tried everything and were not far from a sensation. But the Spaniards had not managed their forces well, and perhaps could not do so. In the end, however, they also had to admit defeat to the high individual quality of the Liverpool squad.