FULL TIME: Villarreal 1-0 Liverpool
And that’s pretty much the last kick of the match! A stunning counter attack deep into stoppage time has given the Yellow Submarine a crucial advantage in this Europa League semi-final. Villarreal stepped it up towards the end of the game, and got their reward. Jurgen Klopp looks visibly deflated, and no wonder: his side are suddenly up against it if they want to reach the final in Basle next month! Last word to palindrome fan Andy Gordon: “Bugger. I preferred the 0-0 aesthetic!”
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GOAL! Villarreal 1-0 Liverpool (Lopez 90+2)
Liverpool are playing a high line. Suarez bursts after a long ball down the right, and he’s got the beating of Toure. He draws Mignolet as he reaches the area, then lays off into the centre for Lopez, who sidefoots into an empty net! A brilliant move by the home side, and a sucker punch for Liverpool!
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90 min +1: Milner, on the right, crosses towards Benteke, who can’t quite get enough on his header from eight yards. The ball breaks left to Ibe, but he can’t keep the move going. This game has burst into life at the very end!
90 min: Firmino is replaced by Christian Benteke. There will be three added minutes.
88 min: ... another corner, Lovren heading behind. And then from that, Suarez miscontrols in the deep, and suddenly Moreno is racing clear up the other end! For a second it looks like he’s going to replicate his pitch-length strike against Spurs last season, but instead slashes wildly high and left from the edge of the box. In fairness, he had Musacchio breathing down his neck, but even so, that’s a chance for a crucial away goal spurned.
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87 min: Bakambu is so close to scoring! He’s been quiet all evening, but suddenly he bursts down the inside-right channel, reaches the edge of the area, and powers a curler towards the bottom left. It’s going in, but Mignolet stretches long to fingertip wide of the post! What a save! And from the corner ...
86 min: Ibe bursts into the box down the left and reaches the touchline. He scoops long, Clyne rising at the far post but unable to direct his header on target. The ball floats harmlessly wide right.
84 min: Milner loops a cross into the danger zone from the right, but Mario eyebrows away under no real pressure from any red shirt. Moreno tries to re-energise the attack on the left, but can’t get the ball back into the box.
83 min: Castillejo makes a couple of runs down the left, but can’t quite send Liverpool into panic, although a neat enough one-two with Suarez nearly comes off.
82 min: Liverpool spend a couple of minutes knocking the ball around the middle, with Villarreal sitting deep. It’s an unexciting stand-off.
80 min: Free kick to Villarreal, 30 yards out on the right. A chance to load the box. Suarez overhits the floater, and it’s easy for Mignolet to spring up and claim.
78 min: Ibe makes good down the left and earns a throw. Then, just after the ball’s flung back into play, he’s needlessly caught offside. Klopp doesn’t look particularly happy with that, either, though it’s his own man getting the laser stare now.
77 min: Bailly looks to have tugged the old hamstring while chasing back there. He’s replaced by Mateo Musacchio.
75 min: Adrian Lopez comes on for Soldado. Lucas then hoicks a long ball down the inside-left channel, and Lallana chases it from deep. He’s clear on goal! And then brought down in the area by Bailly. But the flag’s up for offside. A very, very marginal decision, that. On the touchline, Klopp throws a few semaphore shapes before engaging the fourth official in philosophical debate.
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73 min: Clyne fires a low cross into the Villarreal box from the right. It’s only half cleared, and Allen feeds the ball out to Clyne again. Clyne dinks it in this time, and Lallana is gifted a header six yards out. He can’t power it goalwards, though, and Villarreal hack clear.
72 min: First change for the hosts: Samuel Castillejo comes on for Dos Santos.
70 min: The ref didn’t do a very good job of calming Soldado down. He slides across and flips Lucas into the air like a fried egg. He should be booked for that, but like Toure a few seconds earlier, he escapes sanction. See, it all works out in the long run.
69 min: This is getting a little feisty. Soldado and Toure come together in the middle of the park. Toure’s a bit lucky to escape a yellow card, as he wins the ball with a high boot. Soldado isn’t happy about it at all. The referee does his best to calm him down.
67 min: Marvellous scenes on the touchline after Lucas and Pina come together in the midfield. A big 50-50 crunch, but Lucas is penalised. Managers Klopp and Marcelino spend a few seconds gesticulating at each other, then have a full and frank exchange of views, before smiling and hugging each other. All pals again.
65 min: Milner plays a brilliant snappy pass down the inside-right channel to suddenly spring Firmino into the Villarreal box. Firmino turns and hammers hard towards the bottom right. Asenjo fingertips the shot onto the post, and the ball twangs away at speed. A fine pass, a magnificent shot, and a stunning save. Hats off.
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63 min: Poor old Jaume Costa’s got a mouth full of blood, having taken a whack from Lovren’s elbow. There’s no question of foul play, though; it was a very strange incident, with the Villarreal defender running into the Liverpool player’s limply hanging arm. There wasn’t much elbow point to work with there at all! That’s very odd, and extremely unlucky. But he’ll be OK.
61 min: Ibe skitters down the left, cuts inside, and lays off to Allen, whose shot from 20 yards is meek. Milner picks up possession with a view to having another go, but miscontrols. Villarreal try to break upfield, but leave the ball to Lucas, who slides one down the right. If Firmino was on the front foot, he’d have been clear, but he checks back instead, and all momentum is lost. Liverpool aren’t playing badly, but they’re struggling to move up through the gears in the final third.
60 min: Jaume Costa goes in the book for a late slide on Clyne. He can’t really complain, and to his credit, he doesn’t.
58 min: Suarez scampers off down the left wing, nutmegging Milner to wild cheers. The run comes to nothing, but what a piece of skill. He’s a European nutmeg magnet, poor Milner.
57 min: It’s all a bit scrappy right now. Tense and scrappy. Semi-final football, right here.
55 min: Mario makes good down the right, and his low cross causes all manner of pinball nonsense in the Liverpool box. Bakambu tries to work room for a shot, but is forced to lay off to Soldado upon being swarmed. The ball breaks right to the man who started it all off; Mario blasts wildly over the bar from a tight angle, neither an effective cross nor realistic shot.
53 min: Coutinho isn’t injured, but his substitution isn’t tactical either; he’s simply feeling unwell.
51 min: Milner has a dig from a position on the right. It’s deflected away for a corner on the left. The ball’s worked out to Moreno, 25 yards out. His shot isn’t up to much, and Asenjo claims easily.
49 min: Villarreal are nearly made to pay for their poor decision at that corner. Liverpool edge their way up the park, and Lallana whips a ball into the box from the right that very nearly fluke-loops, Paul Konchesky style, into the far corner. Asenjo does very well to paw the ball away from danger.
47 min: Another corner for Villarreal, who have started this second half with great intent. It’s played short, and what a waste it is. The chance to hover another ball above this set-piece-shaky Liverpool defence is turned down.
46 min: Suarez comes at Liverpool immediately, and his pass towards Soldado down the inside-right channel forces Toure into stretching and conceding a corner. From the set piece. Bakambu rises above Lovren and from six yards crashes a header off the outside of the right-hand post. On the touchline, Klopp raises a wry eyebrow. His side should be behind.
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And we're off again!
Liverpool get the ball rolling for the second half. They’ve made a change, and it’s not the one you might expect: Jordon Ibe comes on for Philippe Coutinho. An injury? Nobody knows yet. “VIL 0-0 LIV,” recites Andy Gordon. “I am enjoying the palindromic score summary on the TV screen. OK, I’m easily amused.”
Half-time reading: Just in case you missed it, an in-depth analysis of this week’s Hillsborough verdict by David Conn.
HALF TIME: Villarreal 0-0 Liverpool
Time for one last corner. It’s Liverpool’s, out on the right. Lucas gets his eyebrows to it, Asenjo claims, and that’s that for the opening 45. A half which promised more than it delivered, but it was entertaining enough, and the second 45 promises fascination. No flipping!
44 min: A bit of tiki-taka by Liverpool in front of the Villarreal box, Clyne, Lallana, Firmino and Coutinho all involved. But it’s way too intricate, and eventually possession is given up. Bombing down the flanks seemed a better option, to be honest.
42 min: Bruno slips a ball down the middle of the park for Soldado, who turns and shoots from the right-hand edge of the D. He sends a fine curler inches wide of the right-hand post. Wow, that was close. Mignolet waves his arms dismissively, kidding on he had it covered, but he’s fooling nobody. If that was on target, it was in.
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40 min: Clyne, stretching down the inside-right channel, has a batter from 20 yards. The ball’s deflected to the left where Lallana traps and lays off to Coutinho on the edge of the box, just to the left of the D. Suffice to say Coutinho still hasn’t found his shooting boots.
38 min: Dos Santos rolls a fine pass down the inside-right channel for Bakambu to chase after. It’s what Bakambu loves to do, so Lovren does very well to shepherd him out to the right wing, then force him into giving up possession. That’s fine defence against a very dangerous player in full flight.
36 min: Bruno has a dig from distance that’s hooked out to the right by Toure. It should be cleared by Moreno, but the full back slips, allowing Mario to scamper onto a loose ball and take a shot from just inside the box. Moreno springs up impressively to throw himself in the road, and the ball’s deflected out for a corner, which is wasted.
33 min: Villarreal pin Liverpool back a little, but can’t do any damage. A refreshed Dos Santos swings one straight over the area from the right; Costa can’t get a cross back in from the left. “I see Villareal have overlooked Areola in favour of Asenjo in goal,” writes Niall Mullen. “Presumably he makes too many boobs.” I’d love to say we’re above this sort of thing, but clearly we’re not.
31 min: A lot of space for Milner down the left. He enters the box, with options in the middle, but delivers an absurd cross, hit at many hundreds of miles per hour, and high to boot. Peter Crouch would have struggled to get his head on that.
29 min: Coutinho’s trademark move: shifting the ball in from the left and looking for the corner. He often finds the top right of the goal; this time he can only find the top right of the stand. He grimaces in existential pain.
28 min: Dos Santos is down, in quite a lot of pain having gone up to challenge a high ball with Moreno, then landed awkwardly on his ankle as he came back to earth. He looks OK to continue right now, but for a few seconds there he looked in a lot of pain.
26 min: Milner, from a deep position on the right, curls a clever inswinger towards the far post. Firmino’s rushing in with a view to planting a header home, but Asenjo reads it well, coming off his line to tickle the ball off its route and claim.
24 min: Liverpool respond well to that period of pressure, Allen and Lallana attempting to work something good down the right. But it doesn’t quite come off. Both teams could have had a couple of goals already, this match is a lot of high-octane fun.
21 min: Some bedlam in the Liverpool box as Villarreal suddenly step it up. Suarez’s ball in from the left is trapped by Bakambu, who can’t quite get a shot away under pressure from Toure and backheels into space. Lucas tries to blooter clear, and is slightly unlucky as the ball pinballs its way to Pina on the edge of the area. Pina sidefoots powerfully towards the bottom right, and his excellent effort is well parried by Mignolet. Liverpool eventually clear after some more Bally-manufactured pinging. So close to an excellent opener.
18 min: Another cross into the Villarreal box, this time by Lallana from the right. Too high this time, and Asenjo plucks it from the sky. “The Pembrokeshire Pirlo (or, Crymych Crab) only misses those chances because the goal is in the wrong place,” opines Matt Dony. “If it was to the side of the pitch, he’d bury the chances all day long. Actually, that’s not entirely fair, and I am a fan of Allen. He’s really stepped up these last couple of months, but has spent far too much time in the past knocking it sideways for possession’s sake.” Oh Brendan!
16 min: Moreno and Clyne take turns to whip balls into the Villarreal area from the wings. Nobody’s there in the middle. Penny for the thoughts of Daniel Sturridge.
15 min: Another push forward by Liverpool, Coutinho winning the ball off Bruno and feeding Allen, who 30 yards out has options either side but turns into trouble. He’s forced to check and lay off for Lallana, who Lucases a shot well to the left of goal. Both teams are looking lively in attack.
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14 min: A bit of space for Firmino on the right, sent down there by Clyne. He earns a corner, which is taken short. After some tippy-tappy nonsense up and down the right flank, the ball’s shuttled in to Lucas, who tries to score from 25 yards with predictable results.
12 min: Villarreal are looking very lively. Dos Santos earns a corner down the right. Lallana having cleared the first corner of the match, the diminutive jinker who takes his turn this time is Coutinho, flicking the ball over Bruno on the edge of the area to win a pressure-relieving free kick.
11 min: From a free kick in the middle of the Liverpool half, Bruno pitching-wedges a delightful ball down the inside-right channel to send Soldado into the area. Soldado whips a low shot across the face of goal and inches wide of the left-hand post. So close, with Liverpool’s back four snoozing. Soldado might have been half a yard offside, so it’s probably just as well that didn’t go in.
9 min: Bruno chips down the left wing and very nearly releases Bakambu into lots of space. Clyne has his chops up, though, and batters the ball out of play. Liverpool’s full backs are playing high up the park, leaving acres behind them. This could prove a high-wire act.
7 min: Clyne is forced by Suarez into the concession of a corner on the left. Lallana heads it clear. A lovely open feel to this match.
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5 min: But it’s Liverpool who should be ahead. Villlarreal don’t look so clever at the back as they let Lallana skitter down the right and roll a simple ball into the area for Allen, who is running in, meeting the ball cleanly on the penalty spot. He’s not challenged, it’s a free go at goal. But he hits the ball straight at Asenjo. That should have been a goal. He doesn’t half miss some good chances, Joe Allen.
3 min: Bakambu slides a ball down the inside-right channel for Dos Santos, who from Liverpool’s point of view is in far too much space. He shapes to shoot from the right-hand edge of the D, but the backtracking Moreno slides in to force the ball back to Mignolet. Villarreal soon come at the visitors again, via Suarez down the left. Suarez hooks a brilliant cross towards the near post, and if Bakambu was half a yard further ahead, he’d be heading home from six yards. But the ball gets through to Mignolet. A bright start by the hosts.
2 min: A slow start to the game, with Villarreal still stroking it around the back at snail’s pace. Liverpool can’t get a touch. Now they know how everyone else felt during the late 70s and early 80s.
And we're off!
It’s Villarreal’s first European semi since 2011; Liverpool’s first since 2010. Both teams will be hoping for a better outcome. The home side get the ball rolling, and knock it around the back awhile. All their defenders, plus a couple of midfielders, get a touch. A wise move.
The teams are out! Villarreal in their increasingly famous yellow, Liverpool in their storied red. It’s a scene of bright, brash, primary beauty. Supporters on all four sides of the stadium cooking up a storm. The home fans wave a banner: “96, You’ll Never Walk Alone.” That’s a lovely touch towards the end of an epochal, emotional week.
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Sky of blue, pitch of green. It was raining in Spain earlier today, but the sun came out later, long enough for the sprinklers to now be sent whipping across the lush turf before kick-off. A magnificent atmosphere in El Madrigal, and a fine sight to boot, with fans of the Yellow Submarine waving scarves to match. “I asked my (imaginary) friend, who I call Phil, what sort of a team Liverpool are playing. He replied that he hoped they would be more Villa than Real. He’s here all week. He says try the mariscadas.” Put your hands together for a new variety act, ladies and gentlemen, Ian Copestake & Phil. They’re here all week. Try the mariscadas.
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Jurgen Klopp speaks! “It is difficult here against Villarreal. They have some good players. It was a very difficult decision to be honest [to go with Firmino up front ahead of Sturridge]. I thought about a lot of things. In the end I decided for a little more stability. In a 4-3-3, however you want, we didn’t play with Daniel until now. And so we thought for today this 4-3-3, 4-5-1, sometimes a diamond, it’s a very flexible style and it makes sense for the players to have played together before.” As for the suspended Sakho? “Kolo Toure and Dejan Lovren have played together, it is our situation. We could talk about Emre Can, Divock Origi or Hendo if you want, but they are not here. We have a really good side on the pitch and a very good bench so we can react in the game. Hopefully we will be successful!”
Villarreal have been spluttering a little since beating Sparta Prague 4-2 in the quarters. A 2-1 defeat at Rayo Vallecano was followed by a comprehensive 3-0 battering at Real Madrid. A goalless draw here at El Madrigal against Real Sociedad didn’t improve the mood too much: the fourth Champions League spot in La Liga, which looked a shoo-in, isn’t a given any more, with Celta Vigo breathing down their necks. The Yellow Submarine make two changes to their weekend team: Jaume Costa comes in for Antonio Rukavina, while Jonathan dos Santos replaces Samuel Castillejo.
A couple of mild eye-openers on the Liverpool teamsheet there. No place in the starting line-up for Daniel Sturridge. Roberto Firmino could well be assigned to run Villarreal ragged in the Divock Origi style, with Liverpool’s star striker coming on later when the opposition are feeling tender. That’s the plan, anyway. Look at it another way: he’ll be there to throw on should Liverpool find themselves in a tight spot. Speaking of firepower in reserve: Sturridge sits on the bench alongside Christian Benteke, who returns after a month out with knee problems. Meanwhile at the back, Kolo Toure is asked to fill Mamadou Sakho’s shoes, while in midfield, Lucas is recalled to add some order to the midfield, offer a little bite in the tackle, give away free kicks on the edge of the area in stoppage time, etc.
Tonight's teams
Villarreal: Sergio Asenjo, Mario, Bailly, Victor Ruiz, Jaume, Jonathan, Pina, Bruno, Suarez, Soldado, Bakambu.
Subs: Areola, Musacchio, Samuel, Trigueros, Castillejo, Adrian, Rukavina.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Moreno, Lucas, Allen, Milner, Lallana, Coutinho, Firmino.
Subs: Ward, Benteke, Sturridge, Skrtel, Ibe, Smith, Chirivella.
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia).
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Good evening.
Liverpool’s 17th appearance in a European semi-final is a match-up between two teams unaccustomed to losing in the Europa League right now. Villarreal are unbeaten in 11 fixtures in this competition, their only defeat coming on Matchday 1 at Rapid Vienna, and they’ve won all six of their ties here at El Madrigal. Liverpool meanwhile are the only club to make it from the start of the group stage to the semis unbeaten, with five victories and seven draws under their belt. Something’s got to change tonight.
Villarreal have reached the semi-finals of this competition twice before, losing on both occasions to the eventual winners: Rafa Benítez’s Valencia in 2004 and the Porto of André Villas-Boas in 2011. Liverpool are here for the fifth time. They were the better side against Leeds United in the 1971 Fairs Cup, only to find Gary Sprake in inspired form; a goal from Billy Bremner, running about on a barely healed broken leg, did for them. They triumphed over Tottenham Hotspur in 1973, then Barcelona in 1976 and 2001. Most recently in 2010 they lost to Atlético Madrid during the final days of the Benítez era.
The scales of history tip even further against Villarreal, as they’re the only side left in the competition never to lift the trophy. Liverpool (1973, 1976 and 2001), Sevilla (2006, 2007, 2014 and 2015) and Shakhtar Donetsk (2009) have all managed it. But nothing stays the same forever. Villarreal will take succour from their exemplary home record, the creative partnership of Cédric Bakambu and Roberto Soldado, and the fact that Jürgen Klopp has yet to win a competitive game in Spain while Mamadou Sakho has been a daft bugger. Liverpool, on the other hand, will consider Villarreal’s recent form - no wins in three - and their own increasingly potent attack - 16 goals in the last five - and dream of a positive outcome themselves.
The kick-off is at 9.05pm in Vila Real, which, with a population of 51,367, is the smallest town ever to have a team in a European semi-final. (Monaco is a fictional construct, right?) That’s 8.05pm back in Liverpool.
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