Former Arsenal and Villarreal star Robert Pires has warned Liverpool 'shouldn't be comfortable' heading into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at El Madrigal.
The Reds take a 2-0 lead into Tuesday night's clash, after a deflected cross from Jordan Henderson and a Sadio Mane strike gave them a much-needed cushion heading into the game. Jurgen Klopp 's side could reach their third European Cup final in five years should they get the job done.
But Pires, who made over 280 appearances for Arsenal and 129 for Villarreal, says Unai Emery's side are 'alive' in this tie and has warned Liverpool not to get too comfortable.
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He said in an interview with Spanish outlet AS : "This team is not eliminated, far from it. I played a semi-final with Arsenal and we also had an advantage, so we hoped to get through without suffering. And the reality was very different.
"Of course Villarreal can go through. We know how complicated it is, we cannot deny that. We know the level of Liverpool and their quality, they are very good and very strong. But Villarreal has not said the last word.
"For me, Liverpool is the best in Europe at the moment and that makes it a great challenge. For this reason, Villarreal, which is a very solid team, suffered a lot in the first leg. But they came out alive, they are alive. And knowing Emery and the quality of this team, I wouldn't be comfortable."
Liverpool produced a remarkable comeback of their own in 2019 when they came from three goals down in the first leg to beat Barcelona 4-0 and progress to the final in Madrid. They went on to win the competition that year after beating Tottenham 2-0 in the final, securing the club's sixth European Cup.
Elsewhere, Man City take a 4-3 lead back to the Bernabeu in the other semi-final. After a difficult start at the Etihad last week, Real Madrid came from behind to make sure Pep Guardiola's side took just the one goal advantage into the second leg.
