It may have been all smiles at full-time inside Estadio de la Cerámica for Jurgen Klopp and his squad, however the picture was much different at half-time as Liverpool went into the break 2-0 down after a torrid first half in which hosts Villarreal blew them away.
The Reds were second best across the whole pitch and needed a Luis Diaz-inspired turnaround in the second half to secure their place in Paris later this month.
Klopp shared after the game that he requested at half-time that his assistant Peter Krawietz find one clip to show to the players in the dressing room of the team doing things “the way he wanted”, but Krawietz stated he “couldn't find one".
This captured just how much Liverpool struggled to cope with the pace set by Unai Emery’s men, and although the game ultimately ended in disappointment for Villarreal, it did at least provide each of Real Madrid and Manchester City with some insight into ways in which they could cause Liverpool issues should they meet Klopp’s side in the final.
One of the immediate things that stood out in the opening 45 minutes was the ferocity in which Villarreal attacked Klopp’s men in possession, something that’s usually very rare.
In recent years, most teams have adjusted their approach when taking on Liverpool. Fearful of being cut open by their scintillating attackers, teams will often opt to sit in compact low blocks, restricting spaces in which they could be exploited inside their own half.
Villarreal showed no such fear though and aggressively looked to press Liverpool players every time they got on the ball. We can capture the fierceness of their pressure utilising a metric called Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA).
PPDA measures how many passes a team allows the opposition to make on average before looking to make a defensive action in order to try and win the ball back. The lower the average, the more aggressive the press.
During the first half against Liverpool, Villarreal’s PPDA averaged out at just 8.06. That was the lowest PPDA Liverpool had faced all season, with their opposition’s PPDA averaging out at a much higher 19.13 across the campaign so far.
The consequence of this pressure was that Liverpool weren’t able to adjust and struggled to impose themselves in possession, regularly turning the ball over in key areas. We see an example of the same below when Ibrahima Konate receives the ball and tries to play a pass down the line toward Mohamed Salah.
That pass is intercepted though and Villarreal quickly launches another siege on the Liverpool goal. Klopp’s side finished the half with a pass success rate of just 70 per cent - their lowest in the first half of any game this season - and having managed no shots on goal.
It was a much improved second half for Liverpool who finally started to get a foothold in the game thanks to both the introduction of Diaz, and as fatigue started to take a hold of Emery’s men.
There was always a real chance that the game could turn in that way despite Villarreal’s impressive start due to the gap in quality between both sides. Yet their approach in the first period will provide either Carlo Ancelotti or Pep Guardiola food for thought ahead of a potential meeting in the final.
Both managers are blessed with much better squads than Emery is at Villarreal, meaning a similar swarming approach from the outset could see them storm to a dominant lead, but crucially they’d have a better chance of maintaining it.
Each of City and Madrid are known for their pressing capabilities, but it’s poignant to note that City’s PPDA averaged out at 12.15 against Liverpool in their FA Cup meeting at Wembley last month. Ancelotti has also been known to play more conservatively against better opponents this season.
It’ll therefore be interesting to see if the winner of their semi-final would move away from these approaches coming up against Liverpool and instead adopt a style that made the Reds look as uncomfortable as they’ve been at any point in this campaign so far.
