Jordan Henderson stormed off in his enthusiasm about the opening goal for Liverpool FC – and, like his team and fans, could no longer be caught. In 133 seconds, Liverpool, in the person of Henderson (53′ – scored as an own goal by Villarreal’s Pervis Estupinan) and Sadio Mané (55′) finished off Villarreal FC. The Spaniards, based on their nickname “Yellow Submarine”, literally went under in the noise on Anfield Road. That description fitted the front page of the LFC program – known for its original drawings on European Cup nights – which featured an underwater image on matchday. To see: the Reds around coach Jürgen Klopp as well as Villarreal, as submersible vehicles.
Hidden on the seabed was the handle cup in the graphic, which Liverpool could not yet find on Wednesday evening. The final will not take place until May 28 in Paris, but the club is likely to have at least secured participation in it – given an overwhelmingly dominant 2-0 (0-0) over Villarreal in the semi-final first leg of the premier class. Should Liverpool put the lead in Villarreal on Tuesday, it would be the Reds’ third final in five Champions League rounds under Klopp.
As if the fans at Anfield had already known in advance how the game would end, they unfurled a banner at kick-off saying that today was “another day…” for the club album. Even the introduction to the game was again a spectacle in itself. How the stadium, which was almost empty one hour before the start of the game, filled up steadily until the fans let the venerable stadium appear in all its red splendor immediately before the start. The fervor with which “You’ll never walk alone” is sung indicates the importance of the game – this time it was louder than ever before this season. Longtime Klopp friend Campino, lead singer of Die Toten Hosen, also liked it and sang the anthem loudly alongside Klopp’s wife Ulla.
Villarreal looks set to sit it out at Anfield
That called before Liverpool Echo, the club’s local newspaper, gave the team the slogan for the match in the form of a headline: “Up and at (th)em”. Klopp, who was always receptive to full speed ahead football, implemented the slogan directly in his starting eleven, he chose the strongest offensive formation. The midfield with the stabilizer Fabinho, the ball controller Thiago and captain Henderson, who ensures aggressiveness and passion – and up front, of course: the fearsome attacking trident, consisting of Salah, Mané and Díaz.
On the pitch, it looked like this: Liverpool gradually increased the number of turns in a game of patience against a finely tuned defense of the Spaniards. It took twelve minutes for the first chance to score when Mané headed past from close range. Shortly thereafter, the center forward retaliated for Salah’s precise cross by putting Salah’s artful shot on him. However, he also just missed the goal.
In total, the Reds had 12 shots on goal in the first half – more than any other eleven in a premier league semi-final without scoring a goal. The guests didn’t even try their own advances. Known for his defensive shrewdness, Villarreal coach Unai Emery arranged his eleven in two tight rows of four in front of the penalty area. The passive playing behavior looked as if the table seventh in the Spanish league wanted to sit out the matter in Anfield. The idea behind it was probably to create a sensation in the second leg with the support of their own audience and to take the third top-class player out of the competition after Juventus Turin and FC Bayern.
But that hope dwindled as the second half progressed as Liverpool increased the tempo until the resistance was broken. However, Henderson had to enlist the help of Villarreal left-back Pervis Estupinan, who deflected an untenable cross into the goal. Although Emery immediately tried to influence his team with calming gestures, Liverpool immediately combined through the opposing defence. In the end, Mané could hardly help but make it 2-0. Liverpool now head to Spain with that reassuring cushion.