Liverpool will head to Spain next week with a significant advantage thanks to their 2-0 Champions League semi-final win over Villarreal on Wednesday night.
It wasn’t easy for the Merseysiders though who faced an organised and resolute opponent that proved difficult to break down.
The hosts dominated much of the game but it took an own goal eight minutes into the second half to break the deadlock before Sadio Mane poked his effort home just two minutes later to seal the victory.
While not a display for the purists, Jurgen Klopp highlighted his admiration for Villarreal following his side’s victory.
“The way they are organised was kind of a lesson for me again," he said.
"When I did the analysis I thought ‘wow, that’s really, really cool and really good’ and again tonight as well.”
Villarreal manager Unai Emery was less enthused by his own side’s display though and hinted that there’ll be a change in approach for the return leg.
“We can’t say anything about their victory because they deserve it," he said.
“The first half for us was really good but we didn’t achieve some things in attack to do good counter-attacks and good transitions. They had two or three chances to score but we defended the box and the goal better than we did in the second half.
“But the second half was the same, they pushed and they deserved to score. 2-0 is a good result for them. For us, it’s not really a good result, but we are going to try to dream to do something different at home with our supporters.
“The match next week will be very, very different than tonight.”
A change in approach was always going to be inevitable with the Spanish outfit 2-0 down, however, their attacking threat will be boosted by the return of talisman Gerard Moreno.
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The Spanish international is a key player for Villarreal but missed Wednesday’s trip to Anfield as a result of a hamstring injury sustained in a 2-1 win over Getafe earlier this month.
That proved a hammer blow to the Yellow Submarines' chances given how important the 30-year-old is to their attack, but he will be back next week.
Moreno can play a number of different roles, which makes him the perfect attacker for Emery who is known for being experimental with his formations. However, he most often uses the forward in a front two of a 4-4-2, giving him free rein to roam across the final third and cause havoc.
The Villarreal man doesn’t boast a standout physical profile, he stands at just 5ft11in and isn’t particularly quick or strong. However, he’s extremely intelligent, always making clever movements in the box or peeling off defenders to create small openings in which to get shots off. He’s so far this season scored 13 goals while registering a further seven assists.
He’ll be seen as an integral part of Villarreal’s game plan for the return leg, and even Klopp himself made reference to the forward’s return on Wednesday night. "For the next leg, Gerard Moreno will be back and maybe another player, so this is not over."
While Liverpool will have to be aware of the threat Moreno can pose, Villarreal’s adjustments in order to play to the forward’s strengths could quite easily work in the Reds' favour.
The issues presented to Liverpool by the visitors in the first leg predominantly centred around what they offered off the ball. They sat in a deep low block, happy to forgo possession and restrict space deep inside their own half.
In the return leg though, they’re going to play higher up the pitch, which will suit Liverpool perfectly. Klopp’s scintillating attackers will have more space to run into and the team’s playmakers like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago will have more openings in which to exploit.
Given the gap in quality between the two sides, this means rather than the hosts potentially clawing back the deficit, there’s more chance that Liverpool will actually be handed better circumstances in which to extend it and secure a comfortable passage into next month’s showpiece final.
