There’s a catch, there’s always a catch. With the charming Spanish side of Villarreal, the catch is their rivals underestimated them because they’re not among the top-three La Liga sides in the European competitions this season. And those teams who did it – Juventus and Bayern Munich, to be precise – paid a high price for such an approach toward Unai Emery’s side. Picture this – the entire population of Villareal is much less than packed Old TraffordJurgen Klopp and his Liverpool, on the other end, seemed to have learnt the lesson from their predecessors. The first leg at Anfield turned out to be very much a one-sided game, ending in a 2-0 Reds win.Reds’ blazing second half sinks the Yellow SubmarineTonight’s rematch, scheduled for 22.00 at the emblematic El Madrigal – a 23.000-seater with probably the smallest pitch in Europe – seems like a dead rubber in prospect.Yellow Submarine doesn’t look capable of hurting the giants, especially with that two-goal deficit in mind. However, not once this season Villarreal had stun Europe and demonstrated they could rise from the dust to reach almost an unprecedented heights.When you spit up, it will come back at you – Nagelsmann’s statement fired up the underdogsThe German tactician knows there’s no place to be laid-back because the Champions League final is just around the corner. “We know that it is half-time,” Klopp said at his pre-match press conference. “In the best possible way, we have to ignore the result from the first leg. If it were a cup game where only one game was decided, and we had to go to Villarreal, we would try to win there.📺 Jurgen Klopp on tonight:”If Villarreal are better than us – well deserved and they will go to the final. That is how football should be.” 🔴 pic.twitter.com/xMDgcoaotI— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) May 3, 2022 “We know they will give all they have, that is absolutely clear. With all the things Unai said after the game… it’s going to be a tough one, but that is completely fine. Champions League semifinals should be tough; we never expect them to be easy, and this will not be easy. But we played a good game at home, and we better play a good game there as well.”‘Villarreal are a disgrace’ • Smaller wage bill than Burnley • Beat Bayern and Juventus to make it to the UCL semi-final • Liverpool are one of the top two best in the world• The club subsidise half their fan’s travel and ticket costThe opposite of a ‘disgrace’ 🙌 pic.twitter.com/UuDkE63EYq— SPORTbible (@sportbible) April 28, 2022 When it comes to players eligible for the tie, Firmino is sidelined due to an injury, while Origi will probably be given a chance to make one of his ultimate European appearances for the Scousers.”At this moment, a Champions League semifinal is the most important game you can play. Whatever happened in the last few weeks or will happen in the next few weeks is not important, for this moment is clear.”You never know if you will reach a semifinal again or if we will ever have the chance again to go to the final, you never know. We have an exceptional team here and nothing is for granted. You need luck in moments and all these sorts of things, so you better treat it carefully and be ready, and we will be ready, ” concluded Klopp.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – SEMIFINALSecond legTuesday22.00: (5.00) Villarreal (3.70) Liverpool (1.80)Wednesday22.00: (3.15) Real Madrid (3.55) Man City (2.20)***odds are subject to change
