Villarreal fans made the most of their Champions League semi-final trip to Anfield and did not let a two-goal first-leg defeat against Liverpool dampen their evening.
The 3,000 travelling fans were vocal in the build-up to the clash on Merseyside and throughout the 90 minutes, despite their side generating few goal-scoring chances of note. A deflected Jordan Henderson cross and a Sadio Mane strike were enough for the Reds to secure a first-leg victory.
The visiting fanbase were in fine voice long after the final whistle, with Anfield clearing out as Liverpool fans exited the stadium but Villarreal fans stayed behind in numbers to continue singing, chanting and praising their players.
Those who remaining the stadium were rewarded by Liverpool’s tannoy announcer’s choice of music after the full-time whistle. The Anfield PA system played The Beatles hit ‘Yellow Submarine’, which is the nickname adopted by Villarreal – due to their club playing in yellow. It was a recognition of the visiting fans' enthusiasm and behaviour throughout the contest, to which they had brought no shortage of noise and colour.
The club is nicknamed El Submarino Amarillo (the Yellow Submarine) because of their yellow strip. The mascot (named Groguet, "Little Yellow") is characterised as an anthropomorphic submarine. He made his debut on 26 October 2001 and was named on 13 December that year by a local 12-year-old, Javier Fuster Almela, following a province-wide competition open to under-15s.
The Beatles are of course a band who were from Merseyside and who enjoyed huge popularity across the globe with their hit single one of the most recognisable songs ever written. It is little surprise that the tune made its way not only into football terraces and chanting but in the decisions of nicknames for football clubs.
Villarreal are not the only Spanish side that use the nickname of El Submarino Amarillo, with La Liga side Cadiz also laying claim to the title. Indeed, it is debated as to which club was the first to use the nickname.
Villarreal played Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Europa League back in 2016, when the Reds won 3-0 at Anfield having lost 1-0 in Spain in the first leg. This season is just the second time in the Spanish club’s history that they have reached the final four stage of the Champions League. They did so in 2006 but were edged out 1-0 by Arsenal on aggregate.
