Villarreal gracefully acknowledged Liverpool’s superiority in the Champions League semifinals. Yellow Submarine congratulates the Reds for qualifying for the final.
Villarreal got wind when they hosted Liverpool in the semi-final second leg at Ceramica Stadium, Wednesday (4/5/2022) early morning WIB. Boulaye Dia’s quick goals in the third minute and Frances Coquelin in the 40th minute made it 2-2 on aggregate.
Villarreal’s confidence should have been higher going into the second half. However, Liverpool came back to equalize within seven minutes through Fabinho in the 60th minute and Luis Diaz in the 67th minute.
Sadio Mane then brought Liverpool a 3-2 lead in the 74th minute to maximize Geronimo Rulli’s blunder under the bar. Liverpool finally advanced to the final with a total aggregate of 5-2.
Villarreal also failed to make a surprise by eliminating one of the strong candidates to win the Champions League. This defeat had made Villarreal president Fernando Roig upset because the referee was biased.
The referee was criticized for not awarding a penalty in the 37th minute when Giovani Lo Celso was fouled by Alisson Becker. However, Roig manly admitted Liverpool were better and deserved to qualify.
Villarreal as a club also officially congratulated Liverpool on the success of advancing to the Champions League final for the third time, in the last five years. Liverpool will meet Real Madrid or Manchester City in the final.
“Villarreal would like to congratulate @LFC for qualifying for the @ChampionsLeague final. Good luck, Reds, you are a fantastic team,” said the Twitter account @VillarrealFCEn.
“Congratulations to @LFC and Jurgen Klopp. Now we are focused on finishing the season as best we can. Come on!,” said coach Unai Emery.
(mrp/bay)
