Liverpool 3, Villarreal 0 (Agg: 3-1): Klopp taunts club’s critics as Liverpool torpedo sinks Yellow Submarine
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp taunted the club’s detractors and urged his side to complete their Europa League mission after blitzing Villarreal with a high-octane showing in Thursdays semi-final second leg.
An early own goal from Villarreal defender Bruno Soriano wiped out their first-leg arrears, while Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana netted second-half strikes as visiting centre-half Victor Ruiz saw red.
Liverpool’s pace and intensity made a mockery of Villarreal’s high-flying status in La Liga and record of 25 clean sheets this season as the hosts reached a first European final since 2007 – when AC Milan prevailed 2-1 in Athens.
The Reds will now face holders Sevilla, who are chasing a third successive crown, in the tournament’s finale on 18 May in Basel after the Spanish side dispatched Shakhtar Donetsk. Victory would also hand Liverpool a Champions League place next term.
“Everyone spoke a lot about this team before I came here and after I came here. I arrived and it was all about quality, not good transfers and things like that. To be honest, I only came here because I thought ‘what a nice squad’,” said Klopp. “Now we have a final and let’s go to Basel. What’s there to say when you’re in a final? We go to Basel, we take, I don’t know, 50, 60, 70,000 Liverpudlians with us, maybe 100,000, and we’ll go there and do our best again.
“It’s well deserved. It was a wonderful night and a brilliant game from my side. What power, what a performance and what attitude.”
Villarreal – nicknamed the Yellow Submarine – had only failed to score in one of their past 32 Europa League matches and threatened a potentially pivotal early away goal as Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was forced to repel a deflected Mario Gaspar effort.
But Liverpool soon levelled the aggregate scores as a stabbed Roberto Firmino cross evaded the slide of Sturridge but ricocheted off the unfortunate Bruno and past on-loan Paris Saint-Germain stopper Alphonse Areola.
The Reds had previously progressed from eight of their 13 European ties when trailing 1-0 from the first leg and former Southampton playmaker Lallana fluffed a presentable chance to edge Liverpool ahead as he failed to connect with James Milner’s raking pass.
Liverpool held the lead for the first time in the tie shortly after the hour mark. Lurking on the shoulder of the last man, England marksman Sturridge latched onto a scuffed Firmino effort to calmly side-foot home off the inside of the post.
Ruiz was shown a second yellow card for a lunging tackle which ended with him standing on the foot of Lallana, who calmed lingering Liverpool nerves inside the final 10 minutes. The 27-year-old flicked a rebound from Sturridge’s botched attempt past Areola from close range after a rampaging Firmino run.