IT’S EASY TO criticise in hindsight, but there’s no doubting that Jurgen Klopp took a big gamble in leaving arguably Liverpool’s best striker, Daniel Sturridge, out of the team on Thursday night.
Ultimately, the move failed to pay off, as Klopp’s men were left with an uphill task after going down 1-0 away to Villarreal, following a well-worked last-minute goal scored by substitute Adrian Lopez.
Yet the manner of the loss more so than the result itself will have left Jurgen Klopp deeply frustrated.
Until the hosts rallied in the final 10 minutes, Liverpool looked comfortable, with their opponents restricted to a handful of half-chances, and the absence of banned centre-back Mamadou Sakho had been barely noticeable.
The match therefore looked eminently winnable against a well-organised but limited Villarreal team, yet Liverpool’s attack continually disappointed in the final third, in the noticeable absence of the injured Divock Origi, the benched Daniel Sturridge and the out-of-favour Christian Benteke (until his brief cameo in the dying moments).
Klopp may argue that leaving out these big names contributed to the visitors’ defensive solidity for much of the contest, but with Villarreal labouring, Liverpool were unusually cautious, neglecting to implement their trademark intensive pressing and instead seemingly playing for a 0-0 draw to take back to Anfield.
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The Spaniards were average enough for the most part, however, so Thursday night felt like an opportunity missed from the Reds’ perspective, exacerbated by that dramatic last-gasp goal.
2. Sevilla have playing in the Europa League down to an art
Sevilla's goalscorer Kevin Gameiro, left, high fives his captain Daniel Carrico next to Ever Banega, right, at the end of the semi-final first-leg Efrem Lukatsky
Efrem Lukatsky
Following Thursday’s action, Sevilla appear well-placed to make an incredible third-consecutive appearance in the Europa League final, having won the trophy on the back-to-back occasions for the past two seasons, matching their triumphs in 2006 and 2007.
On Thursday evening, they showed the type of grit and resilience that has brought the side so far, as Kevin Gameiro’s 82nd-minute penalty earned his team an invaluable 2-2 draw away from home against Shakhtar.
In addition, Unai Emery’s men have won 14 out of 18 league matches this season at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, and so will consequently be strongly fancied to reach the final on the back of this encouraging first-leg result.
The club, who are currently seventh in La Liga, clearly have competing in the Europa League down to a fine art. They are now just two victories away from emulating Bayern Munich’s 40-year-old record of winning three consecutive European trophies.
3. Spanish sides’ incredible European run continues
Amazingly, given how late it is into the season, Spanish sides continue to hold a remarkable record.
So far, no La Liga club has been knocked out of Europe by a non-Spanish club.
Moreover, this week, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal all managed to come through unbeaten against tough opposition in their respective European ties.
As it stands, the prospect of two all-Spanish finals in both Europe’s premier club competitions appears far from inconceivable. You could make the case that all of the Spanish sides are the favourites to progress in their respective ties ahead of next week’s second leg.
What makes the achievement more remarkable is how well these teams have managed to perform, when — with the exception of Real Madrid — their resources have been relatively modest in comparison to many of the elite European teams.
The feats of Atletico Madrid and co, in continually overcoming the so-called bigger sides — when the TV money they receive is minimal in comparison to Barca, Real and several others across Europe — are not far off a sporting miracle.
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Liverpool needed to be braver and more Europa League talking points
1. Negative Liverpool needed to be braver
IT’S EASY TO criticise in hindsight, but there’s no doubting that Jurgen Klopp took a big gamble in leaving arguably Liverpool’s best striker, Daniel Sturridge, out of the team on Thursday night.
Ultimately, the move failed to pay off, as Klopp’s men were left with an uphill task after going down 1-0 away to Villarreal, following a well-worked last-minute goal scored by substitute Adrian Lopez.
Yet the manner of the loss more so than the result itself will have left Jurgen Klopp deeply frustrated.
Until the hosts rallied in the final 10 minutes, Liverpool looked comfortable, with their opponents restricted to a handful of half-chances, and the absence of banned centre-back Mamadou Sakho had been barely noticeable.
The match therefore looked eminently winnable against a well-organised but limited Villarreal team, yet Liverpool’s attack continually disappointed in the final third, in the noticeable absence of the injured Divock Origi, the benched Daniel Sturridge and the out-of-favour Christian Benteke (until his brief cameo in the dying moments).
Klopp may argue that leaving out these big names contributed to the visitors’ defensive solidity for much of the contest, but with Villarreal labouring, Liverpool were unusually cautious, neglecting to implement their trademark intensive pressing and instead seemingly playing for a 0-0 draw to take back to Anfield.
The Spaniards were average enough for the most part, however, so Thursday night felt like an opportunity missed from the Reds’ perspective, exacerbated by that dramatic last-gasp goal.
2. Sevilla have playing in the Europa League down to an art
Following Thursday’s action, Sevilla appear well-placed to make an incredible third-consecutive appearance in the Europa League final, having won the trophy on the back-to-back occasions for the past two seasons, matching their triumphs in 2006 and 2007.
On Thursday evening, they showed the type of grit and resilience that has brought the side so far, as Kevin Gameiro’s 82nd-minute penalty earned his team an invaluable 2-2 draw away from home against Shakhtar.
In addition, Unai Emery’s men have won 14 out of 18 league matches this season at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, and so will consequently be strongly fancied to reach the final on the back of this encouraging first-leg result.
The club, who are currently seventh in La Liga, clearly have competing in the Europa League down to a fine art. They are now just two victories away from emulating Bayern Munich’s 40-year-old record of winning three consecutive European trophies.
3. Spanish sides’ incredible European run continues
Amazingly, given how late it is into the season, Spanish sides continue to hold a remarkable record.
So far, no La Liga club has been knocked out of Europe by a non-Spanish club.
Moreover, this week, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal all managed to come through unbeaten against tough opposition in their respective European ties.
As it stands, the prospect of two all-Spanish finals in both Europe’s premier club competitions appears far from inconceivable. You could make the case that all of the Spanish sides are the favourites to progress in their respective ties ahead of next week’s second leg.
What makes the achievement more remarkable is how well these teams have managed to perform, when — with the exception of Real Madrid — their resources have been relatively modest in comparison to many of the elite European teams.
The feats of Atletico Madrid and co, in continually overcoming the so-called bigger sides — when the TV money they receive is minimal in comparison to Barca, Real and several others across Europe — are not far off a sporting miracle.
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Originally published 00:20
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