Liverpool survive Villarreal scare to make UEFA Champions League final

Premier League side Liverpool are through into the final of the UEFA Champions League 2021/2022 season after coming from behind to beat Villarreal 3-2 on Tuesday night at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

After winning the first leg 2-0 at Anfield stadium, Liverpool were behind by a 2-0 deficit in the first half of the 2nd leg at Ceramica.

Boulaye Dia put the Yellow Submarines in front after just two minutes, while former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin made it 2-0 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate, putting the tie in the balance.

Unai Emery’s side were in the momentum for the first 45 minutes before Liverpool made changes in the second half.

Jurgen Klopp called Luiz Diaz to replace Diogo Jota after the break, and the substitution yielded dividends when Fabinho made it 2-1 in the 62nd minute while Diaz made it 2-2 five minutes later.

Sadio Mane won the game and further put the tie beyond the yellow submarines in the 74th minute as Liverpool won the game and the tie 5-2 on aggregate.

Meanwhile, the La Liga side finished with ten men after Etienne Capoue got red-carded with four minutes left of the clock.

Liverpool have now reached the final of the competition ten times; only Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Bayern Munich have reached more finals. The Los Blancos have appeared 16 times in the final. AC Milan and Bayern both reached the final 11 times, respectively.

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho revealed that the Spaniards took the first fifteen minutes seriously and scored two goals that gave the host confidence.

“They gave it everything in the first half. We knew the first 15 minutes would be really important. They scored early, and it gave them confidence, and the fans felt it. It was a hard first half for us, maybe the hardest of the season. But you have to be ready for everything and try to play football.” Fabinho said.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu