Rocio Robles
The UEFA Champions League once again had a spectacular day on Tuesday, May 3, in the second leg of the Villarreal vs Liverpool semi-final. The Spanish team came with a 2-0 disadvantage after the first leg and wanted to make a historic comeback taking advantage of their home advantage. However, they faced one of the favorites of this edition of the UEFA Champions League, which is also one of the powerhouses in today’s soccer.
Villarreal not only showed their defensive form again to prevent Liverpool from attacking, but at the same time went on the attack to start their play and give the visitors a scare. None of this was enough: in the end, the victory was 2-3 for the “Reds” with an overall score of 2-5 that places the English team in the UEFA Champions League Grand Final.
Villarreal knew what their obligation was in this match and took charge of executing the plan from the start of the game. In the 3rd minute, the “Yellow Submarine” took the lead with a goal by Boulaye Dia. What followed in the match was a constant back and forth on the field by both teams. Somehow, the home side looked better and in the 12th minute, Dani Parejo almost scored the second goal, but the ball went wide of the right side of the goal.
Liverpool wanted to deploy their attacking weapons, but the yellow block was constantly alert at the back, recovering fast to move the ball to the opposite side of the pitch. The English side was not comfortable on the pitch and it was becoming more and more evident.
In the 37th minute, Giovani Lo Celso fell in the area after a one-on-one with goalkeeper Alisson Becker, and despite the fact that the entire crowd was calling for a penalty in favor of the home team, the referee did not award it. However, in the 41st minute, Francis Coqulin headed home a header to make it 2-0 and put the score at 2-2 on aggregate. Villarreal went into the break with a partial victory and their hopes intact.
UEFA Champions League results: Villarreal shone in the first half
For the second half, the dynamic remained quite similar, but the English team was pressing more and more. The Spanish goalkeeper, Gerónimo Rulli, had to appear on several occasions to keep out the rival’s onslaught.
The defense could no longer hold out, and Fabinho appeared inside the box in the 62nd minute to score the goal that effectively put them in the final. Five minutes later, it was Luis Díaz who equalized with a header from close range. The Colombian’s goal gave the Reds a two-goal advantage on aggregate.
The “Yellow Submarine’s” psychological blow was quite noticeable. They lost their concentration and in the 74th minute, Senegal’s Sadio Mané took away all hope of a place in the final when he scored to make it 2-3.
The actions continued but there were no more goals. The referee announced the end of the match, which gave the Reds a 2-5 aggregate victory, and they became the first finalists of this edition of the UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool has already secured its place in the final on May 28 and will now wait for its rival, which may be Real Madrid or Manchester City.
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