Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said that his team must be prepared for the worst during its match against Villarreal on Tuesday in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, while Spanish club coach Unai Emery saw that excellence passes through the search for ideal.
Liverpool won the first leg 2-0 at Anfield, and has won every away game in the competition this season, but Emery has achieved 84% success as a coach in European knockout matches since 2010.
"We didn't win games by defending and counting on the counter-attack," Klopp told reporters ahead of the second leg in Spain. "We tried to play our way and we have to do it again. We have to be prepared to suffer, face the opposition's pressure and defend in some periods, but it's not our way in general." .
𝗨𝗖𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦 📂 How Liverpool & Man.
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And Liverpool lost only once this year in its pursuit of 4 unprecedented titles.
"We've done some right things in the last few months," the German said. "The problem now is that everything is going well but everything can change if you make one mistake in the next game. We're in a good time but what are you going to do if you lose 2-0 away?" The past won't help us then."
Klopp added that "maturity and experience" are important factors, but they are not everything.
"They will try to play better than the first leg and Unai will of course try to control some things. It will be an exciting match. Maturity is important but it is not the only factor in winning."
The spirit of Juventus and Bayern Munich
On the other hand, Villarreal will try to restore the spirit that made it superior to Juventus and Bayern Munich, and Unai Emery realizes how difficult it is to beat Liverpool, who lost only 3 games this season in all competitions, and did not lose in any match by more than two goals.
"We will need a perfect match to achieve what no other European team has done against Liverpool this season," Emery said in a press conference today, Monday. They are no longer giving an advantage, so that will give us freedom to move forward."
Liverpool have never lost at Anfield in the semi-finals of the European Cup 🤯
đź‘€ What will happen in the second leg?@LFC |
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"The advantage of playing on the ground was there, and I hope you work with us here too. We want to not make any defensive mistakes, better than what happened at Anfield, and we need to play at our level, which is something we did not achieve in the first leg."
After the two former champions, Juventus, were ousted from the final price and Bayern were eliminated from the quarter-finals, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal coach believes that his current team is capable of achieving a new surprise.
"I want the players and the fans to take up the challenge with pride," he said. "Football is about feelings, and we have a strong relationship with our fans, as we are from a small industrial city. I'm absolutely sure we have what it takes to offer Liverpool something they haven't been through this season."