Sadio Mané celebrated with Andrew Robertson Liverpool’s second goal against Villarreal at Anfield. (Photo: Peter Powell / EFE / EPA)
In the land of the Beatles, this is not the Yellow submarine lived an easy life this Wednesday under the blue sky and the green sea, as Ringo Starr sang one of the most popular songs of Mix, the band’s seventh studio album. Liverpool showed their power, beating Villarreal 2-0 in the first leg of one of the semi-finals of the Champions League, pointing to its journey to the final of the tournament it has won six times and keeping alive its dream of titles. poker today. season, in which he has already won the English League Cup, was a shooting guard for Manchester City in the Premier League and waiting for Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
Those fascinated after the all-out duel starring City and Real Madrid on Tuesday and hoping for another delivery of aggressive back-and-forth football will be left with little taste to their tastes. In any case, no one can be surprised at what each of the protagonists raised on the Anfield pitch. From the opening whistle of Polish Szymon Marciniak it is clear that the actions will take place closer to the domains of Gerónimo Rulli than the goal defended by the Brazilian Alisson.
“We will play against the main favorite to win this competition, but we want to be us and have our leading role,” Unai Emery warned on the eve of the match. The protagonism is not what his team has shown, although it is a logical approach: he bet on a smooth withdrawal in his field and the quick responses he can make under the leadership of Giovani Lo Celso and the resolution by Dutchman Arnaut Danjuma and Nigerian Samuel Chukwueze. The second part of the plan should.
The strategy involves quite a bit of risk against an overwhelming rival who became the owner of the medium thanks to the clarity of Thiago Alcántara and struck the wings with the ascents of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson and the imbalance of Colombian Luis Díaz on the left. In the first half, Jürgen Klopp’s team persevered without losing their calm, although they failed to break the yellow wall that protected Rulli and where Juan Foyth was one of its main supporters. The clearest at the time was Thiago’s bombing from 25 meters that drove off the right pole.
Mohamed Salah tried to leave Ecuadorian Pervis Estupiñán on the road. (Photo: Lluis Gene / AFP)
The great virtue of the English team is to maintain patience. And the prize for it came at the start of the second half and with a little help from luck to open the game: in 8 minutes and after a collective game where the ball traveled from left to right, a center from Henderson who he diverted. the Ecuadorian Pervis Estupiñán, changed his course and slipped on Rulli’s far post.
Before the visitor could weigh whether to leave his shelter or try to maintain a slight disability, he received another slap. Two minutes after the first, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, who barely entered the game in the opening chapter, teamed up to embroider the second: the Egyptian helped (with a shot at Pau Torres) and the Senegalese were referred to a quick blast.
If the first half was a difficult challenge for the current Europa League champions, the supplement was a 45-minute ordeal as Liverpool offered a soccer recital, seen as the Spanish cast groggy and, nonconformist, continued looking to liquidate the game. off. He couldn’t, but he left her well on his journey. Next Tuesday, Villarreal will have to give shape to another victory like the ones he did against Juventus and Bayern Munich if he wants to overcome this slope and reach the final.
Source: Clarin
