Unai Emery hopes Villarreal can imitate the ‘very important’ impact Anfield had during the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final with Liverpool last week, via The Guardian.
El Submarino Amarillo host the Reds at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Tuesday chasing a 2-0 deficit. Pervis Estupinan broke the deadlock in the Premier League side’s favour, after he inadvertently turned Jordan Henderson’s delivery into his own net past Geronimo Rulli.
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Sadio Mane swiftly doubled the Merseyside outfit’s advantage inside two minutes of going ahead with a low shot past Rulli. But Emery takes some comfort in UEFA deleting the away goals rule from this season, with Villarreal not needing to score at least three to progress.
Liverpool have only conceded three goals during a Champions League fixture once thus far this season against Benfica. Nelson Verissimo’s side struck three at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp fielded a changed line-up for the quarter-final second-leg after taking a 3-1 win in Portugal.
Villarreal, though, have proven they are no easy ride after eliminating Juventus and Bayern Munich in the previous two rounds. Emery’s La Liga side also scored three away in Turin to advance over the Bianconeri, while holding Der FCB to a 1-1 draw in Bavaria to progress.
Juventus were the third team that Villarreal hit three or more past after beating BSC Young Boys 4-1 and Atalanta 3-2 in the group stage. But each meeting also occurred on the road, with El Submarino Amarillo’s biggest Estadio de la Ceramica win 2-0 with BSC Young Boys.
Unai Emery hopes Villarreal imitate ‘very important’ Anfield impact vs Liverpool
With Villarreal now needing to match their BSC Young Boys result to take Liverpool to, at least, extra-time, Emery hopes the Estadio de la Ceramica can imitate Anfield and replicate what the Reds fanbase produced to inspire a result from Klopp’s side during the first-leg.
“It is hard to turn around a 2-0,” Emery said. “It benefits us that there is no away goals, so it’s a bit more natural to play for a win. We have to find ways of scoring. The ‘home’ factor was very important there, and we would like to have a little difference in our favour here.
“This is a town where, of course, not everyone likes football, but they do all identify with Villarreal because they have that feeling of belonging; 23,000 people will be there, and we want to be in the final. They have a big lead, but we’re not here just to end it.”
The Estadio de la Ceramica has been a happy hunting ground for Villarreal in 2022 so far. El Submarino Amarillo are unbeaten at home in all competitions since November, with eight wins and four draws. But Villarreal host Liverpool after losing 2-1 at Alaves last Saturday.
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