“Villarreal were flooded with Liverpool’s press and barely made it,” said Tim Stapard. “Unai Emery is extremely good, but he can’t give his team more time. Benfica worried them more, and Benfica is weak too. ”
This second sentence is great and so neat. I knew that Manchester United had to appoint Neo as a new manager.
Presented without comment In BT Sport, Michael Owen has just announced that Virgil van Dyke is the greatest central midfielder of all time.
“I will inevitably miss the first half tonight,” wrote our Liverpool supporter Matt Donnie, “so I will get all my moaning negativity on the early doors. Everything looks a little “too” comfortable. Villarreal is a very good team (they are in the semi-finals of the Champions League, for God’s sake!), And 2-0 is not exactly the most amazing overall lead in the world.
“Yes, Liverpool must pass. But the level of trust in certain areas of social media is arrogant and resistant to nonsense. Removing the away goal rule is an absolutely good thing. But I would very much like to bring him back tonight. Who should I talk to? “
And I was trying to make sense of that. I will be honest, I expect a good night in the dungeon of MBM and I think this is due to the way the first match rather than the result. It reminds me of that old line about album reviews: “Of course, they gave you 6/10, but it reads like 8.”
The first game was 2-0, which was read as 4-0, which is why most of us think that Liverpool will progress comfortably. This is also because they are terribly good. But as a neutral I would enjoy sequels, penalties, the whole fuck.
Updated at 19.13 BST
The weather in Villarreal has been terrible for the last 48 hours, which can make life interesting for the goalkeepers. The field is soaked, but obviously there is no danger of the game being abandoned.
Heavy rain all day here in Villarreal. Lots of wind too. Difficult conditions, but the terrain endured it well. See you at @btsport at 7pm #VILIV
– Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) May 3, 2022
Updated at 19.13 BST
Team news
The excellent Gerard Moreno returns to the Villarreal team, but they are without the injured Arnaut Danjuma. This is a big blow. Moreno for Danjuma is one of two changes from Anfield’s first game. The other is also in the front, where Bulae Dia is in place of Samuel Chukwuez.
Jurgen Klopp is also making two changes from last week’s first game: Nabi Kate and Diogo Hota replace Jordan Henderson and Luis Diaz.
Villarreal (4-4-2) Ruli; Voight, Albiol, Pau Torres, Estupinan; Lo Celso, Capoue, Parejo, Coquelin; Moreno, Dia. Substitutes: Asenjo, Jorgensen, Mario Gaspar, Alcácer, Ibora, Chuquuese, Trigeros, Pena, Mandy, My Gomez, Pedraza, Orie.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alison; Alexander-Arnold, Conate, van Dyck, Robertson; Keita, Fabinho, Tiago; Salah, Giotto, Manet. Deputies: Kelleher, Milner, Gomez, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Minamino, Tsimikas, Diaz, Origi, Matip, Elliott.
Referee Dani McKelly (Netherlands)
Updated at 19.06 BST
Preamble
One year is a lot of time in football associations. On May 3, 2021, Liverpool were seventh in the Premier League and seven points from the Champions League qualifiers. They are now two games away from the seventh European Cup and could be seven games (plus a draw with Manchester City) from a historic four.
Football is an endless tale of the unexpected, a thought that will keep Villarreal ahead of tonight’s match at El Madrigal. The first game was so one-sided – 2-0, which looked like 4-0 – that most of the neutrals think that Liverpool is already as good as in the final. This is not a view that will be shared in the guest locker room or in the visiting area. The Liverpool legend is built on the glorious European returns, from Juventus in 1965 to Barcelona in 2019, so they know all about the madness of the rematch.
If Liverpool score the first goal, it’s over. If Villarreal points it out, all bets are excluded.
Start at 20:00
“Be careful”: Klopp warns Liverpool before the decisive rematch of the Champions League – video
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