They played to scare each other. Pale, overwhelmed and without much inspiration in the first half, the Liverpool players finally found the resources on Tuesday, May 3, to shatter Villarreal’s dreams. The Spaniards, settled like clockwork in the first 45 minutes (2-0), with the French Etienne Capoue and Francis Coquelin as figureheads, then derailed (2-3).
WE’RE INTO THE #UCL FINAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/YdorzkTYWY
—Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 3, 2022
It is thanks to the foot of Fabinho (62nd), the head of Luis Diaz (68th) and the cunning of Sadio Mané (75th) that the English found the solution and blew up the mechanics of the players in yellow. The Reds thus knew how to keep their cool to make an appointment with a tenth final in the Champions League.
Villarreal were the surprise of this Champions League. His bravery and his performances have punctuated this edition, and this semi-final return could have been the final bouquet of a harshly well-played score. For half-time, after goals from Boulaye Dia (3rd) and Coquelin (41st), fans of the Valencian club began to dream of a European final.
Only, opposite, a club apart has decided otherwise, the Reds who have lost only once in 2022 (against Inter, in the group stage of the Champions League). This reaction from the Mersey players clearly shows that a victorious European campaign is also based on experience. In addition to what they have learned from two finals in the last four editions (defeat in 2018 and victory in 2019), Liverpool have been able to count on their stars to give themselves the chance of a possible seventh coronation in C1.
For their part, the Spaniards, euphoric at half-time, have a hangover. If their coach Unai Emery settled them like clockwork in the first half, with a game worthy of a Champions League semi-final, the hands wavered when the English hour struck. After 60 minutes, the yellow submarine saw the torpedoes pass by its periscope, before yielding. In the front line, the guardian of the ship: Geronimo Rulli. As a symbol of a team in distress, the repeated assaults after half-time got the better of the vigilance of the Spanish goalkeeper.
Beaten by Fabinho’s shot which slipped between his legs (62nd), he was then abandoned by his defense against the head of Luis Diaz. Finally, he was the author of a hazardous exit at the origin of the third goal. If Geronimo Rulli has often been the leader of his tribe in the past, he did not manage to occupy the same role in this crucial meeting for his people.
Two French people, on the other hand, could have played this role of heroes: Francis Coquelin and Etienne Capoue. The latter, decisive and omnipresent double passer in the middle, cracked like his team by collecting two yellow cards.
In addition to this failure at the gates of the final, Villarreal should also not return to European competitions next season. The club currently only occupies seventh place in the Spanish La Liga. Liverpool can achieve a breathtaking quadruple (Champions League, English championship, FA Cup, in addition to their League Cup won in February).