Liverpool^ advance to the Champions League final.
Liverpool^ completed the task of qualifying for the Champions League final by defeating Villarreal 3-2 in the second leg of the semi-final on Tuesday evening.
Villarreal took the lead with two goals from Boulaye Dia (3) and Francis Coccoli (41)
until Fabinho (62), Luis Diaz (67), and Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick for Liverpool^ in the
second half (74).
However, Unai Emery made two changes to the starting lineup that lost the first leg, with Gerard
Moreno returning to the attack after recovering from injury, and Boulaye Dia taking Samuel
Chukwueza’s position.
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, on the other hand, elected to play Portuguese Diogo Jota in
the front line over Colombian Luis Diaz.
In the third minute, Villarreal took the lead when the ball reached Etienne Capoue on the left
flank, who deceived goalkeeper Alisson Becker and placed the ball on a golden platter in
front of Dia, who easily followed it into the empty goal.
Liverpool didn’t respond until the 11th minute, when full-back Andy Robertson crossed a
cross, which was followed by a poor and far-away Jota.
Liverpool^ pressured by Villarreal
In the 12th minute, Villarreal midfielder Dani Parejo made a poor shot that did not threaten
Liverpool’s goal, and in the 23rd minute, Jota failed to deal with Mohamed Salah’s pass