Liverpool took control of their Champions League semifinal tie as they comfortably saw off Villarreal in the first leg of their last-four clash at Anfield. The Reds, who had beaten Everton 2-0 in the Merseyside derby over the weekend, beat Unai Emery’s side by the same scoreline.
Villarreal, who had upset both Juventus and Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds, appeared to have a similar gameplan for the Reds and their defensive tactics worked fairly well till the interval, with the score at 0-0 going into the break.
However, Liverpool finally got the opening they were looking for when a Jordan Henderson cross was deflected by Ecuadorean left back Pervis Estupinan into his own goal. Two minutes later, Sadio Mane stabbed home the Reds’ second, and the game was as good as done.
The Spanish side offered very little going forward- they failed to register even a single shot on target. Liverpool also had the ball in the back of the net through Fabinho and Andy Robertson, but both goals were rightly disallowed for offside.Thiago Alcantara again had a fine game in the centre of the park and even rattled the post with a gorgeous long-range effort.
Liverpool’s next game is against in-form Newcastle United this weekend while Villarreal will square off against Alaves in La Liga.
