Liverpool get job half done in semi

LIVERPOOL are on the brink of a third Champions League final in five seasons after breaking Villarreal’s resistance to win the first leg of their semi-final 2-0 at Anfield on Thursday.

Two goals in two minutes undid Villarreal boss Unai Emery’s defensive game plan as Pervis Estupinan deflected Jordan Henderson’s cross into his own net before Sadio Mane slotted in a second.

The Reds remain on course for an unprecedented quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup.

And barring a huge upset when the sides meet again in southern Spain in six days’ time, Liverpool’s season will finish in Paris on May 28.

The population of Villarreal would fit inside Anfield but the 3000 travelling fans did their best to match the noise of the home support early on.

In stark contrast to the freeflowing thrills of Manchester City’s 4-3 win over Real Madrid in the other semi-final on Wednesday, Emery’s men followed the same tactic that saw them overcome Juventus and Bayern Munich by retreating behind the ball.

However, the Yellow Submarine could barely lay a glove on Jurgen Klopp’s men as Liverpool had to bide their time to make their dominance count.

The Reds have now scored 135 goals this season, but were held scoreless in a frustrating first 45 minutes.

Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli finally cost the Spaniards with a feeble attempt at parrying Henderson’s deflected cross.

The last thing the visitors could afford was the floodgates opening, but they were powerless to stop the waves of Liverpool attacks.

Salah was the architect with a perfectly weighted pass for Mane to prod past Rulli on 55 minutes

The offside flag then came to Villarreal’s rescue to rule out Andy Robertson’s strike.