Liverpool FC – Villarreal FC: Klopp-Elf levers out Bayern conqueror

Liverpool FC immediately took control of Bayern Munich’s fright Villarreal and scored the first good chance in the person of Sadio Mané: After a cross from Mohamed Salah, the Senegalese headed wide from six meters to the right (12′).

In the aftermath, Jürgen Klopp’s team continued to dominate the game. Counter-pressing in particular worked well for the Reds, so that the hosts kept winning the ball in Villarreal’s half.

A little unorthodox, Henderson tried a shot from a very acute angle at the outside of the post (23′). The ten yellow field players kept gathering in their own penalty area, blocking the middle and forcing the Reds to the outside.

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Despite good chances, a goal was still a long way off, especially since Salah narrowly missed the left corner of the goal with a fine flick from the inside right (27th). A little later it was Mané again, whose shot from the edge of the penalty area swept wide to the left (33′).

However, Thiago had the best opportunity just before the half-time break: his powerful shot from 23 meters hit the left post (42nd).

In the second round, the hosts shifted up a gear again – and finally struck. A cross from the right of captain Jordan Henderson was deflected so unluckily by Pervis Estupiñán that it went over the unhappy looking Gerónimo Rulli in the left corner of the goal (53′).

Just two minutes later, Salah put the ball through to Mané on the edge of the penalty area, who tipped the ball past Rulli, who was storming out, into the right corner of the goal (55′).

The resistance of the yellow submarine was now broken – the guests were lucky that Andrew Robertson’s goal after a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold was not counted for offside (64th).

A little later, Rulli then had problems with a powerful long-range attempt by Virgil van Dijk, before Luis Díaz narrowly missed the far corner from the inside right (68′).

Unai Emery then tried to influence his team with numerous changes and let his eleven stand a little higher. However, the Spaniards were unable to get a shot on Alisson’s goal, especially since Joker Boulaye Dia was ruled offside when he shot from the inside right (87′).

So it was the well-deserved 2-0 win for the home side, who can now go into the second leg in Spain in six days with a good starting position.

The voices:

Unai Emery (Trainer FC Villarreal): “They were better than us. We would have liked to have created more chances, but we were pushed a lot on the defensive. 2-0 is a clear and deserved result. It could have been worse. However, we still have a chance. We are alive still.”

Jordan Henderson (FC Liverpool): “We’re very happy. Villarreal were tough opponents. It was a good performance from the team in a difficult game. We scored two goals and kept our goal clean, that was important. We still have a lot to do but we have to go think game by game.”

Gerónimo Rulli (FC Villarreal): “The 0-1 draw was very unfortunate – when he takes a deflection like that, there’s not much you can do about it. We’re still full of confidence in our strengths that we can turn things around in the second leg. On Tuesday you’ll be a no-brainer see another Villarreal. We will give them a great fight and give our lives for the club.”

The tweet about the game:

With zero shots on target, the Liverpool keeper had a very quiet day at work today.

That was noticeable: Oppressive superiority

19:1 shots on goal, including five to one on goal. That was the record that spoke a very clear language at the end of the 90 minutes at Anfield Stadium. Liverpool was the dominant team from the start, while Villarreal was as expected deep – but without being able to set the offensive pinpricks that were otherwise so feared and played so successfully against Juventus Turin and FC Bayern. This was mainly due to the seriousness that Jürgen Klopp’s team displayed throughout the season. Liverpool kept the pace constant, especially after the restart, putting Villarreal under pressure and scoring the decisive double. That was also reflected in the statistics, in which not only the number of shots on goal provided information, but also the proportion of ball possession: At 68 percent, Liverpool also had a clear distribution.