Villarreal took drastic measures in a bid to revive their hopes of overcoming Liverpool in their Champions league semi-final tie.
Unai Emery’s side have been the surprise package of this season’s competition, eliminating both Juventus and Bayern Munich on their way to reaching the final four. However, in the first leg, Liverpool recorded a relatively routine 2-0 win at Anfield, meaning the odds are now stacked against the Spanish side.
Despite being in a commanding position ahead of the return leg at El Madrigal, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made five changes for his side’s win over Newcastle on Saturday, notably resting Mohamed Salah among others. Though Villarreal went a few steps further and sent a clear message to Liverpool.
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The Yellow Submarine made nine changes for their away trip to relegation-threatened Alaves.
Pau Torres and Dani Parejo were the only two players to keep their place as Emery looked to keep the majority of his first-choice XI well-rested for their midweek meeting with Liverpool.
With Villarreal sat 7th in La Liga, the manager appeared to place little importance on the game and his side quickly found themselves 2-0 down after 31 minutes. At half-time, Emery then replaced Parejo and Torres with Giovani Lo Celso and Juan Foyth.
His side responded quickly after the break, with Samuel Chukwueze grabbing a goal back on 47 minutes. But it proved to be a mere consolation with the final score being 2-1 to the home side. Prior to Saturday afternoon, Alaves had won just one of their last nine league games, with the victory lifting the side into 19th.
While Emery's gamble may have backfired somewhat today, it remains to be seen whether it could provide an advantage on Tuesday night.
