Welcome to Sportstar's highlights of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 semifinal clash between Liverpool vs Villarreal played at the 'Estadio de la Cerámica' in Villarreal, Spain.
Follow Real Madrid vs Manchester City semifinal second leg live here:
This was Aneesh Dey bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of this clash. That's all for thr night. Thanks for tuning in. Goodnight and take care.
Match report:
Klopp among the elites!!
Trent Alexander-Arnold supremacy!!
[Aggregate Score: Villarreal 2-5 Liverpool]
Full-time! (Villarreal 2-3 Liverpool)- Liverpool qualifies for its tenth European final!!
90+2' Villarreal tries to launch one final attack Liverpool deals with it. Goalkick to Liverpool.
Two added minutes!!
88' Stat time!
86' RED CARD- Etienne Capoue sees his second yellow for his challenge on Jones. He leaves the field.
85' Booking- Pau Torres shown yellow for his dangerous challenge on Mane.
84' Liverpool Subs: IN- James Milner OUT- Fabinho
81' Booking- Villarreal's Giovani Lo Celso is shown yellow for his reckless foul on Fabinho.
80' Liverpool Subs: IN- Curtis Jones, Konstantinos Tsimikas and Jordan Henderson OUT- Thiago Alcantara, Andrew Robertson and Naby Keita.
79' Villarreal Subs: IN- Manu Trigueros, Serge Aurier and Paco Alcacer OUT- Pervis Estupinan, Raul Albiol and Boulaye Dia.
77' Booking- Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool sees yellow.
74' GOOOAAAAALLLL!! LIVERPOOL SCORES ANOTHER!! ITS MANE!! Rulli comes way out of his line but to his horror, loses the ball to Mane who does well to keep it with him. With an open goal in front of him, he takes his own sweet time to slot the ball inside the net and give Liverpool the lead on the night.
68' Villarreal Subs: IN- Samuel Chukweze and Alfonso Pedraza OUT- Gerard Moreno and Francis Coquelin.
67' GOOOOAAALLL!!! LIVERPOOL SCORES AGAIN!! ITS DIAZ THIS TIME!! Diaz slots the ball into the net through the legs of Rulli. The cross came from Alexander-Arnold. A quality attacking move by the Reds.
63' Booking- Etienne Capoue of Villarreal shown yellow.
62' GOOOAAALLL!! LIVERPOOL SCORES!! ITS FABINHO!! Salah finds Fabinho with a deft pass. Fabinho, who was onside, drills a shot at Rulli's near-post and the ball goes under him into the net. Poor keeping by Rulli there.
58' Foul in Villarreal's favour as Robertson brings down Lo Celso with a crunching challenge.
57' Chance- Mane finds Diaz with a lovely chipped cross. Diaz goes for the glorious as he tries to bury the ball home with an acrobatic finish. The contact was not ideal and the ball goes out of play.
55' Off the crossbar- Alexander-Arnold takes a shot from distance, which takes a huge deflection, hits the crossbar, and goes out of play. Rulli was a mere spectator as the events occured.
54' Liverpool looking more settled on the ball than the first half. However, Villarreal also showing no signs of slacking off.
51' Estupinan with a late challenge on Alexander-Arnold who had already sent the ball out. If the ball was on target, then it could have been a penalty shout.
49' Alexander-Arnold swings a cross in from a Liverpool freekick. The ball finds Mane who wasn't quite ready and his touch takes the ball out of play.
47' Diaz tries to make a run from the left flank but Foyth does well to snatch the ball from him with a crunching, but legit tackle.
46' Liverpool Sub: IN- Luis Diaz OUT- Diogo Jota
We are back for the second-half!
Half-time! (Villarreal 2-2 Liverpool)
Two added minutes!
44' Villarreal is leading possession with 51% of the ball. Now how often does that happen with Liverpool?
41' GOOOAAAALLL!!!! VILLARREAL EQUALIZES!! ITS COQUELIN!! Capoue turns provider again and delivers a pinpont cross from to Coquelin at the backpost. Coquelin jumps and guides the ball home with his head.
38' Lo Celso, meanwhile has gotten some medical attention and is okay to continue.
37' Check complete- No penalty!
37' Alisson brings down Lo Celso inside the box as the Argentinian tries to get the ball past him. But referee says the Liverpool keeper has got enough of the ball and gives just a corner. VAR checking the incident.
35' Liverpool finding it difficult to establish a rhythm of play. Villarreal not shying away from making professional challenges.
32' Coquelin tries to wriggle his way through the middle of the Liverpool defence but he is stopped in his tracks.
28' Moreno makes a good run on the right to get to the aerial ball but he is pulled back for offside.
24' Liverpool with a good counter attacking move as Salah capitalizes on Estupinan's error. Salah squares the ball with Jota but Albiol did well to get to his man. Rulli comes out of his line and narrows down Jota's angle but in the end, play is stopped for handball.
22' A great attacking move by Villarreal but it wouldn't have counted as Moreno was offside when he got the ball.
19' Alexander-Arnold seemed to have found Mane with a wonderful aerial through ball but the Senegalese for offside when the ball was played to him.
17' Keita's shot from distance is weak as the ball rolls outside play.
14' Close- Thiago takes a first-time shot from outside the box. Good technique but the execution is not perfect. Rulli was a spectator as the ball flew over the crossbar.
12' Shot- Dani Parejo takes a shot from outside the box and does not miss the target by much. Good effort by the Spaniard.
11' Robertson delivers a low ball. The ball seems to have hit Jota and gone out of play. Goalkick to Villarreal.
10' Foyth brings down Robertson with a silly challenge and it is a Liverpool freekick in a dangerous area. Good chance to get something inside the box.
6' Liverpool should not change its style of approach really. Depite conceding early, the Reds still kore likely to go through.
3' GOOOOAAALLLL!!! VILLARREAL SCORES!! ITS DIA!!! Estupinan with a beautiful cross to Capoue at the back post. Capoue lays it across goal for Dia who does not miss from close range.
1' Villarreal with a positive start as Emery's men crowd Liverpool's box. The rain has stopped for now. The atmosphere is rocking.
1' Kickoff!
12:30 am- And we are underway!
12:15 am- Stat time!
12:02 am- Less than half an hour to kick-off!
11:47 pm- Players to look out for!
Sadio Mane, Liverpool: The Senegal International has changed his position from a winger to a striker and has got his name in the scoresheet in the first leg against Villarreal as well.
Mane scored his 14th Champions League goal against Emery's side, equalling Didier Drogba's record as the African with most such goals in the competition's history. The Senegalese will look to surpass the Ivorian when he takes to the pitch for the return leg.
Arnaut Danjuma, Villarreal: The Dutchman has scored six times in the Champions League this season and has assisted a further two and remains one of the most dangerous counter attacking players in the tournament. He has scored 16 goals in 33 appearances this season.
11:32 pm- Form guide of both the team!
Villarreal's last five matches:
- 1-2 Loss vs Deportivo Alaves (La Liga)
- 0-2 Loss vs Liverpool (Champions League semifinals)
- 2-0 Win vs Valencia (La Liga)
- 2-1 Win vs Getafe (La Liga)
- 1-1 Draw vs Bayern Munich (Champions League quarterfinals)
Liverpool's last five matches:
- 1-0 Win vs Newcastle United (Premier League)
- 2-0 Win vs Villarreal (Champions League semifinals)
- 2-0 Win vs Everton (Premier League)
- 4-0 Win vs Manchester United (Premier League)
- 3-2 Win vs Manchester City (FA Cup semifinal)
11:10 pm- Starting lineups are out!
Villarreal XI: Rulli(GK), Albiol, Torres, Parejo, Capoue, Moreno, Foyth, Estupinan, Dia, Lo Celso, Coquelin.
Coach: Unai Emery
Liverpool XI: Alisson(GK), Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Keita, Thiago, Jota, Salah, Mane.
Coach: Jurgen Klopp
11:00 pm- Head-to-head record!
Liverpool and Villarreal have come up against each other once before in the Europa League 2015-16 semifinal, wherein the Reds had come out victorious 3-1 on aggregate.
MATCH PREVIEW
Villarreal aims to rekindle the spirit that saw off Juventus and Bayern Munich when it bids to overturn a 2-0 deficit in its Champions League semi-final second leg against Liverpool on Tuesday.
A 2-1 LaLiga loss to lowly Alaves was not ideal preparation and coach Unai Emery knows how hard it will be to beat Liverpool, which has only lost three matches this season in all competitions and none by more than two goals.
"We will need a perfect game to achieve what no other team in Europe accomplished against Liverpool this season," Emery told a news conference on Monday.
"Overturning a two-goal deficit is already complicated against any rivals and much more when your opponent is a team that is almost flawless. We benefit that away goals are not worth double any more so it gives us more freedom to attack," he added.
"Homefield advantage there was key and I hope it work the same for us here. We need to be impeccable on defence, better than in Anfield. And we need to find our game, something that we have not achieved in the first leg."
After eliminating former champion Juventus in the last 16 and Bayern in the quarter-finals, the former Paris St Germain and Arsenal manager believes his team is capable of delivering another shock. "I want my players and the fans to face the challenge with pride," Emery said.
READ: Villarreal vs Liverpool: All you need to know about Champions League second semifinal Leg 2
"Football is about feelings, and we feel a great connection to our fan base, being from a small industrial town. I truly believe we have what it takes to present Liverpool something they didn’t experience this season so far."
Defender Pau Torres, born a few miles from Villarreal’s training facility, echoed his coach's upbeat mood.
"There is no ideal script to a game like this. We need one goal to get us back at the fight and that’s what we need to look for," Torres said.
"It doesn't matter how it is achieved. We need a goal at any time and the tie will be open again. That’s our mantra."
Via Reuters
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