Knows how to beat tough opponents: Unai Emery, Villarreal head coach. Photo: Pablo Morano/AP/dpa. (Source: dpa)
Villarreal (dpa) – After Juventus Turin and FC Bayern Munich, outsiders FC Villarreal also want to throw Liverpool FC out of the Champions League.
His team will not start with feelings of inferiority, said coach Unai Emery ahead of the semi-final first leg against England on Wednesday at Anfield. “We are here with the certainty that we have deservedly come this far. And with this knowledge we have to measure ourselves against the main favorites Liverpool,” the 50-year-old coach told journalists in Villarreal.
Emery said Liverpool FC with coach Jürgen Klopp represents an even greater obstacle than Juventus and Bayern. Among other things, because “the surprise factor is no longer there”. But the coach also emphasized: “The level of difficulty and the challenge are now greater for us, but our hope and our motivation are also greater.” You want to compete at eye level and maybe win at Anfield. Liverpool knew it would not be a walk in the park. “They respect us.”
Around 3,000 Villarreal fans want to cheer on the seventh-placed Primera División away on Wednesday evening. Emery, who knows English football well as a former Arsenal manager, said the support of his home fans was needed as the opposition were in their prime. “It’s a Klopp-style Liverpool: with joy, with a smile, with energy. Not only do they run a lot now, they’ve learned to change the rhythm.”