Unai Emery was filled with pride following Villarreal's Champions League exit as he insists Liverpool deserved their place in the final.
The Spanish side had Liverpool rocked in the first half of the return leg of their semi-final clash as they stormed to a 2-0 lead. They were unable to finish the job however as the Reds were able to regroup after the break with goals from Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane to seal a 3-2 victory (5-2 on aggregate) to book their ticket to Paris at the end of the month.
It would have been a fairytale story for Villarreal to go all the way but it's a been memorable run that won't be forgotten about any time soon as they knocked out European giants Juventus and Bayern Munich en route to the final four.
Emery was disappointed in the manner of the defeat since they had Liverpool on the ropes in the first half, but he couldn't ask any more of his players. The former Arsenal boss did concede that Jurgen Klopp's men were the better team over the two legs and were deserving of their spot in the final, however.
Speaking to BT Sport, he said: "When you have lost the moment is sad for everybody. We can't be happy because of the way we were doing good matches, good battles against Juventus, Bayern Munich and then some excellence against Liverpool.
"They deserve to play in the final. First half tonight we showed everybody we are a good team as well and we can have chances too. But the difference in two matches was with them."
Rio Ferdinand reckons it was an "opportunity missed" for Villarreal who had their opponents rattled in the first half as he praised Liverpool for turning the tide and "demolishing" the Spanish side after the break.
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He said: "That was an opportunity missed for Villarreal. Congratulations to Liverpool, deserved winners in the end. They were on the ropes but they were allowed to get themselves back together at half-time.
"Villarreal took their foot off the pedal, all their great work pressurising Liverpool, pinning them back, not giving them any time, but in the second half they played exactly how they played in the first leg and got demolished.
"I don’t know how they let them off, was it a conscious decision from Unai Emery? Did they make sure they had a breather? It killed them. Liverpool smelt blood and fair play to them they demolished this Villarreal team."
