Liverpool coach, Jurgen Klopp says they cannot afford to underestimate Villarreal when they meet in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals at the Anfield stadium on Wednesday.
Villarreal beat Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League, drawing 1-1 at home and securing a famous 3-0 win in Turin, recording a 4-1 aggregate.
Unai Emery’s men went into the quarter-final game against Bayern Munich as the underdogs, but produced a master class performance over the two legs, a 1-0 win at home in Spain and a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena in Munich was enough to send the 2021 Europa league winners to the semi-final.
“It is absolutely special to be part of the semi-final, Jurgen Klopp said. it’s crazy. It is a massive game. So many coaches, so many players out there work their socks off their whole life and have no chance to be even close to a semi-final so we have to cherish it, appreciate and enjoy it as well.
“We face a very difficult opponent. They are made for this competition, to be 100% honest. The way they set it up is really good. There might have been a little advantage in the last two games, maybe Juve or Bayern underestimated them, but that will never happen to us.
“There is no chance, so this little advantage might have gone. But they are still a really good football team who want to make history as well. It would be the first time they go to a final, which would be a massive thing for Villarreal I can imagine, but it is to us the same importance.” The German coach said.