As in the first semi-final pair of the Champions League, in the confrontation between Liverpool and Villarreal, the English club was listed as the favorite.

But if the phenomenal form of Karim Benzema and Luka Modric made it possible to consider Real Madrid, if not equal, then at least a worthy competitor to Manchester City, the second Spanish team had no such arguments.

Wards of Unai Emery have already jumped above their heads and miraculously left the formidable Bayern overboard.

But repeating the scenario in a duel with the Merseysiders seemed somehow unrealistic.

If only because Villarreal lost its main trump card - the effect of surprise.

Bayern was clearly not ready for such resistance from the nominal underdogs and was unable to crack the enemy's massive defense, and the case was not without luck.

But it was hardly worth believing that the most experienced Jurgen Klopp did not draw conclusions from the bitter experience of his compatriots and did not develop a plan to overcome the defensive orders of the Spaniards.

And one of its most important elements must have been Thiago Alcantara, who at one time was acquired specifically to improve the game of the Reds in a positional attack.

Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane, as well as Luis Diaz, who ousted Diogo Jota from the base, had to respond to his programs.

It was easy to predict the plot of the match.

As expected, Villarreal gave the ball to Liverpool, dug in in their own penalty area and began to defend the goal of Jeronimo Ruglia in full force.

And he was good at it.

The hosts were practically deprived of free space in the center, so they were forced to use the flanks as much as possible, where Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold tried to create.

But all they were allowed to do was reach the front and make a cross towards the goalkeeper.

There, the guests acted unerringly, over and over again interrupting the transmission of opponents.

Despite the efforts of the Spaniards, Liverpool still found chances for strikes and quite often.

The problem is that the ball practically did not reach the goalkeeper of Villarreal.

Of the 12 attempts, only two were right on target, and in both cases Diaz beat.

However, Alcantara's long-range "shot" turned out to be the most dangerous.

The Spaniard powerfully kissed from twenty-seven meters, but only checked the strength of the goal frame.

Guests responded to this with only one miss Giovanni Lo Celso and practically did not try to move to someone else's half of the field.

Not to say that Klopp has made major changes at half-time.

The German did without substitutions, and the game plan remained the same.

But if in the first half of the meeting the Spaniards acted almost flawlessly, then in the course of the second they began to not withstand constant pressure.

For the first time the ball was in the net already in the 50th minute, but then the line referee saved the guests.

When drawing a corner, Fabinho scored, but Virgil van Dijk, who played the discount, got offside.

But already three minutes later, "Liverpool" scored by all the rules, and not without some luck.

Yes, Jordan Henderson did a great job with Salah and broke through to the flank, but his pass could hardly create big problems for Villarreal's bulky defenders.

But Purvis Estupinian intervened.

Ecuadorian unsuccessfully framed his leg, and the ball ricocheted from her flew over the collar Rulya.

"Villarreal" was in the role of catching up, and after 133 seconds his position became critical.

Salah opened between the lines, gathered four opponents and rolled the oncoming Mane.

The Senegalese, who opened on the verge of offside, easily pushed the ball past the goalkeeper and doubled Liverpool's advantage.

Sadio scored his 14th goal in the playoffs of the Champions League, equaling Didier Drogba, the top African scorer in the history of the tournament.

In the current Champions League draw, Villarreal has repeatedly made comebacks and drawn unsuccessful meetings.

At the group stage, Emery's wards not only equalized, but also took the lead in the course of the confrontation with Atalanta, and in the playoffs they got away from defeat in games with Juventus and Bayern.

True, in all three cases they lost with a difference of one goal, and they could not win back two.

It smelled like a repeat of the result of the home match with Manchester United, when the Spaniards could not respond to the exact blows of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho.

But if in November Villarreal fought on equal terms with an opponent and even surpassed him in the number of shots on goal (13:11), then this time one could only dream of it.

For the entire second half, the guests never bothered Alison Becker and only once managed to get to the opponent's penalty area.

An attempt to break through to the target was made by Arno Gruneveld, but was stopped by the defenders of the hosts.

Liverpool, on the other hand, dominated and could well have won by a much larger score.

Good moments had Fabinho and Diaz, and Robertson's goal was canceled due to offside.

Diagonal Alexander-Arnold into the penalty area turned out to be amazing, but the Scot made a dash a little earlier than expected.

One way or another”, Liverpool achieved a confident victory at their home stadium and practically decided the outcome of the confrontation with Villarreal.

In order to reach the final for the first time in history, Emery's wards need to perform a miracle at their native Estadio de la Ceramica and beat the Merseysiders with a difference of at least three goals.

And this despite the fact that in the entire history of the "yellow submarine" only three times so confidently took the upper hand in the Champions League.

In the 2007/08 season, Aalborg was defeated, and in the current season, Young Boys and Juventus were defeated.