Liverpool reaches final
VILLARREAL, Spain — Liverpool players stared at each other in disbelief. By the bench, manager Jurgen Klopp watched in awe.
Just like that, Liverpool had squandered its twogoal lead from the first leg of the Champions League semifinals against Villarreal, and its spot in the final was suddenly in jeopardy.
Would Liverpool be the latest powerhouse to be stunned by the modest Spanish club? Would its bid for a seventh European title end in disappointment?
Luckily for the English club, it was only a scare.
Liverpool rallied in the second half to defeat Villarreal 3-2 and reach its third Champions League final in five seasons on Tuesday. It advanced 5-2 on aggregate at the La Ceramica Stadium.
“You could see how impressed we were with them in the first half,” said Klopp, who will be making his fourth Champions League final appearance as coach, joint-most with Miguel Munoz, Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi. “To come back and win in the second is really impressive.”
After Boulaye Dia and Francis Coquelin put Villarreal ahead by the 41st minute, Fabinho, substitute Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane scored in the second half to propel Liverpool into the final for the first time since winning its sixth European title in 2019. It will be Liverpool’s 10th final in Europe’s top club competition.
Based in a city of 50,000 people in southern Spain, Villarreal had eliminated Juventus in the round of 16 and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
Unai Emery’s team played a man down from the 86th after Etienne Capoue, who assisted on both Villarreal’s goals, was sent off with a second yellow card.
Liverpool will play the May 28 final in Paris against either Premier League rival Manchester City or 13-time European champion Real Madrid. They will meet on Wednesday in Madrid with City defending a 4-3 win from the first leg in England.
Liverpool has not been eliminated in the knockout rounds after winning the first leg since 2001-02. It has scored a club-record 139 goals in all competitions this season.
Returning to the Champions League may be hard for Villarreal as it’s currently out of the qualification zone in the Spanish league. This was only the fourth appearance in Europe’s top club competition for the club. It had also made the semifinals in 2006, losing to Arsenal. It was a quarterfinalist in 2009, losing to Arsenal again.