please log in to view this image Fans of Liverpool cheer the team coach as it arrives before the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final Second Leg Jurgen Klopp insists Villarreal won’t know what’s hit them at Anfield as Liverpool look to secure their passage to the Europa League final. A season is on the line on Thursday night and the manager is confident the size of the occasion will bring the best out of Reds players and supporters alike. Villarreal celebrated wildly when they secured a late winner in last week’s first leg but Klopp believes the La Liga outfit are in for a shock as Anfield gears up for another titanic European battle. “I do not know what they know about Anfield,” Klopp said. “If we can create with our game a similar atmosphere as Dortmund then it will be much more difficult for Villarreal than they imagine in this moment. “They scored in the last minute of the game to make it 1-0 so it’s not a big surprise that they celebrated like this. It’s more about when my colleague (Villarreal boss Marcelino) said after the game that 1-0 was the result he dreamed of. “It’s not that I always from now on expect wonders from us or the crowd in difficult close games, but we all felt how big the influence is of an outstanding atmosphere. In this week of wonderful weather on Merseyside everybody could be in the perfect mood.” Klopp vowed after the first leg that it would be “completely different” on home turf and he’s sticking to that prediction. Liverpool will certainly adopt a more positive approach than in Spain but he admits they have to be wary of getting caught by Villarreal strike duo Roberto Soldado and Cedric Bakambu on the counter-attack. “It’s the whole package - another atmosphere, another game,” he said. “Obviously before the first game the things we knew were based mainly on our analysis but now we’ve seen things in the game itself. That’s why the second leg is always different. “Before the draw you would want the first leg away and the second at home because you can fix a few things and change a few things. That’s what we have tried to do. It’s a new game and it’s a big opportunity. “It is a semi-final. Everything is possible. We are young enough, healthy enough and still in a good shape. We know a lot about the opponent so we can play this game. “Everybody maybe expects from the first second that we need to be on fire and that we will press them in their own half. A lot of things are possible and I don’t want to talk too much about what we’ll do because hopefully we can surprise them a little bit but it is about playing smart. “A big threat is their counter-attacking game. It is not their only strength, but it is a big part of their game. With these two strikers they are pretty quick and calm enough to wait for situations. They defend with eight people, leaving these two strikers always in dangerous positions, so you need a perfect protection for all your attacking moments. “In our attacking game, we know more. We played well until a specific point and then with our crosses we didn’t find the target often enough. We have thought about everything and will be really well prepared for this game.” Liverpool have played nine European semi-final second legs at Anfield and they have won eight of them. The only time they failed to win was in the 1976 UEFA Cup but a 1-1 draw with Barcelona was still good enough to take the Reds through to the final. The last European night at Anfield proved to be one of the most dramatic in the club’s illustrious history as they fought back from 4-2 down on aggregate to stun favourites Borussia Dortmund 5-4 on aggregate.
Reds seek first European final since 2007 Another goal-fest against Villarreal is unlikely with the Spaniards looking to hold on to their narrow advantage. Klopp knows Liverpool need to be sharper and more clinical in the final third than they were at El Madrigal. “Villarreal is different in terms of talent, style of play, everything,” Klopp said. “Dortmund was the strongest team in the competition but that doesn’t mean anything. It was only a description. “If you see the season Villarreal are having you will know they are very stable but usually they have more opportunities and dominance in games than they had against us in the first leg. “We did well. We didn’t do it well enough to get the result but we did do it well enough to feel confident still and that’s all I need. please log in to view this image “We need to improve and do better in many parts of the game – to show a bit more greed, be a bit more clear in the final third and to create more opportunities. When we have the chance to make crosses we could do better in terms of finding our target and things like this. But the game gave me important signs for the re-match and that’s what we’ll work with.” The stakes could hardly be higher. Triumph and Liverpool will be into their first European final since 2007. Miss out and Klopp’s first season at the helm will effectively be over. Klopp insists his players won’t be burdened by pressure. He has simply reinforced to them that they have earned what is a golden chance to march on to Basel on May 18. “How I understand football, forget everything that went before, don’t think about after the game, just focus on the game and do whatever you can. Fight for your life if you want. What we did before was to be perfectly prepared for a game like this “It is a wonderful opportunity, nothing else. Two and a half weeks ago after the draw at Dortmund nobody really expected we would go through. “Before the draw when people saw we got Dortmund they said ‘oh my god’, people thought we would go out in the quarter-final. “But we showed it is possible. It is only an opportunity. A big opportunity. It is something like a dream. We want to make it through. “I am really happy about this opportunity together with these hard working boys. We did wonderful things throughout this season. “We did a few not so good things. I have forgotten nearly all the things we didn’t do so well because I know why we did them. What we did until now was to be perfectly prepared for a game like this. “Since Sunday at 1.45pm we only thought about this game and only did preparation for this game. We know everything we need to know. Let’s go for it.”
Free fall is egging it a bit. I would say probably stagnant I would reserve judgement at the moment. The positives are that there is an optimism and feel good factor. We have also reached a final and (so far) a semifinal of big tournaments. The negatives is that we are really underachieving in the premiership and there is a possibility that we could miss European football altogether. For those who say we are not being realistic, one word: Leicester. Tonight is a very big night for LFC and for Klopp . If we go out, our season could well be over. Next season would be spent rebuilding.
What a great opportunity to get CL, whilst playing in Europe and on a big stage. Good experience for the young lads which will bode well in the future. Looking forward to tonight - similar to Bayern the other night, I hope we just go at them from the off. Bombard their box and look to get an early goal and put them under pressure.
In effect we could say that we lost 9 years... G&H caused it. But in reality we've probably lost more than 9 years cos it will take time to rebuild a decent side.
I have mixed feelings. Last night i felt that we have talked a lot about the squad and how average it is and little they seem to show any passion when playing. Dortmund changed that but recently they have been playing poorly and the attitude has changed. For Sturridge he needs to show some passion for the club otherwise his career can take a nose dive. But yeah, can this squad of players really win a European tournament? The team which won the Europa all those years back had a lot more potential and growth than this team. I feel in terms of squads were probably second best in the remaining teams (Seville, Liverpool, Villareal, Shaktar). First half goal is absolutely vital, we need confidence that we can break them down, if we dont score in the first half we must not concede. Can Villareal handle big occasions? Semi's against Arsenal they bottled a last minute penalty but thats a completely different team now. I will be gutted if we dont reach the final but i wouldn't be surprised.
I think anyone can if they put their minds to it. In the end we need to win 2 games to win a european cup. the first one is tonight against a team who are good defensively and set up to counter so we gave them the ideal platform through klopp's tactics talent at some point becomes less important than bottle and work ethic and honestly we should have been out last round cos dortmund are way better than us but on the night something happened with bottle. ........................................... It'll come down to sheer will in the end. Villareal have faith, togetherness and organisation. the question will be how they use that to hurt us o nthe break if thats how they set up and how each team reacts. ............................................ but my worry is powderpuff players like lallana won't have the will to set up and really smash that first chance home and i expect to see several just plain miss the target or bounce twice before their keeper scoops them up. This is why despite all the talk about sturrdige attitude we know if a real chance falls to him he is the one guy who will put it away.
I'd prefer a front four of: Milner-Coutinho-Fimrino ---------Sturridge Lallana for me is a worker but wont provide the clinical quality we need.
i would like to see a 4-4-2 with sturridge and benteke front 2. lallana-milner-coutinho-ibe Sturridge-benteke we would have firmino,lucas and allen on bench, prob better if they was impact players coming off bench than playing full 90 mins.
Lallana or Milner - it's a lesser of two evils. I'd probably start Lallana and if we're desperate near the end, bring Milner on to whip in crosses. Just please do not start Milner in CM!!
Milner has been providing vital assist and is showing worth to the team. Lallana is a really hard worker but Firmino & Milner provided this and more. If we are winning and need legs for the last 15 mins then by all means bring him on.
I cannot see any thing but: a) coutinho left wing. he will NOT play central for klopp. klopp will wont someone to work with moreno and why would klopp change that now.. even if they are **** defensively. b) Lallana is a worker. I cannot see klopp start wihtout the pointless cryuff turn c) firmino. he's played all the time for klopp. I think klopp rates him and if we are pulling a fast one i think he will be pushed further up d) milner) he's the physicality klopp wants and work rate.. i cannot see klopp not starting him and that means no allen Sorry to you all but thats my views on what klopp will do Mingolet Clyne Lovern toure Moreno milner Can Lallana Firmino Coutinho Sturrdige If we see anything else something is wrong somewhere. be it injury or lunacy... We need a goal so that front 4 is what klopps gone for quite a lot.
“A big threat is their counter-attacking game. It is not their only strength, but it is a big part of their game. With these two strikers they are pretty quick and calm enough to wait for situations. They defend with eight people, leaving these two strikers always in dangerous positions, so you need a perfect protection for all your attacking moments. This means for me that we will have 3 men back and if i see a CB flying on on a solo run i will go mad as will klopp. if it develops into a attack v defense came the cbs and cms need to realize they are ball fetchers not attackers no excuses to be caught with a mile gap between CBs and no CMs as they break and score.
We could win this tie but it will depend on how we approach it and of course a bit of luck. We need to score 2 goals and I think if we are 1-0 or even 2-0 early in the 2nd half we could be in trouble. Because they'll be attacking us and we know how 'strong' that defence of ours is. I would prefer us to be attacking in the last 30 minutes rather than defending a lead.
i get you... theres no faith anywhere i think that we can actually defend a lead. we ****ed it against them at 0-0 in last mins.
This lot won't gift you the space in behind that Dortmund continually did, and if you press too high up the pitch you'll leave yourselves vulnerable to the counter. You'll need to maximise your opportunities from set pieces imo tonight, they could end up being the deciding factor.
Probably. Can't think we will have 29 chances and only need 2. We might get 5 chances and need to take 2.
