Former Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella has taken aim at Jason Cundy after he branded Villarreal 'a disgrace to the Champions League'.
Cundy was scathing on talkSPORT about the performance of the Spanish side in their 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Wednesday night. An own goal from Pervis Estupinan and a Sadio Mane strike two minutes later secured the Reds a semi-final first-leg victory.
Villarreal struggled to contain their Premier League opponents throughout the 90 minutes with Alisson Becker remaining largely untested. And speaking after the game, Cundy launched a scathing attack on the La Liga outfit, claiming a Liverpool fan could’ve partnered Virgil van Dijk at the back.
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The ex-Chelsea defender said: “First of all, congratulations to Liverpool. Cruise control. There’s not a world that exists right now where Villarreal can trouble Liverpool at any price.
“Liverpool were totally dominant. In some ways, it was too easy for them. I don’t know what I’ve just watched – but Villarreal are a disgrace. That is a disgrace. UEFA must be watching that and thinking, ‘we are in big trouble’.
“If that’s what’s getting to the semi-final and facing English teams… Liverpool did not get out of second gear. That Villarreal side there was like playing the last group game against a side that’s not even good enough to drop into the Europa League.
“It was shocking. Liverpool are brilliant – but that was a disgrace to the Champions League. There are players who haven’t even broken a sweat in a Champions League semi-final.
“There’s only one team that can do anything to Liverpool right now and that’s Man City, maybe Chelsea in a one-off. They are streets ahead. Villarreal were beaten before the first whistle went.
“West Ham would give them a better game. Everton gave them a better game. I’ve got no idea how Villarreal have made it this far. I can’t believe what I’ve witnessed. I reckon you could’ve had a fan alongside Van Dijk tonight.
“You could’ve pulled a fan out of the stadium and said, ‘Look – it’s your lucky day, you’re going to play for Liverpool in the semi-final of the Champions League, get your kit on’. That’s how bad Villarreal were.”
But now responding to Cundy’s claims, Chirivella believes 'a disgraceful team' doesn't beat the sides Villareal have over the last couple of years. The ex- Reds midfielder also touched on how hard it is to play against his old club at the minute.
“I really don’t think a disgraceful team beats Arsenal United Bayern and Juve in the space of a year, also I don’t think a pathetic team wins the Europa League last season, they are playing the best team in Europe at the moment. Every team going to Anfield are having a tough game,” he wrote on Twitter.
Speaking on the game last night, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said : “I never saw a wishlist for this kind of thing where you choose which team you want to face. We got Villarreal and I couldn’t respect more what they do.
“The way they are organised was kind of a lesson for me again. When I did the analysis I thought ‘wow, that’s really, really cool and really good’ and again tonight as well.
"But we should not forget we are really good as well. It’s a duel on a really high level, who can push it through a little bit more.”
