From 0: 2 to 3: 2 in the second leg – a Villarreal fairy tale that is too short: Liverpool is in the CL final – sport

Legend:

Later jubilation at the “Reds”

Liverpool celebrate reaching the final.

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  • Liverpool are in the final of the Champions League for the 10th time.
  • England won the second leg of the semifinals in Villarreal 3-2 after trailing 2-0 and advanced to the final with a 5-2 aggregate score.
  • In the final, the English will meet either Manchester City or Real Madrid (first leg: 4:3).

On May 28th in Paris, Liverpool will have the chance to win their 7th title in the “premier class”. In order to make it into the final, the “Reds” had to fight far more against Villarreal than they would have liked.

Only after a good hour did Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mané go from 0: 2 to 3: 2 within 12 minutes and thus abruptly destroyed the sensational hopes of the Spaniards that had become real to date. Thanks to the overall score of 5:2, the English are once again fighting for the “premier class” title.

The miracle was there – but only until halftime

After losing 2-0 in the first leg at Anfield, not many Villarreal supporters had high hopes of a miracle early in the game. But the Spanish surprise team was unimpressed.

The crowd in Villarreal got Spanish football delicacies from the first minute. While there was no sign of “the best Liverpool of all time”, to use Michael Owen’s words, a highly motivated home team caused cheers in the stadium:

  • 3rd minute: The fans probably haven’t even made themselves comfortable when Boulaye Dia sends the Estadio de la Cerámica into ecstasy. A long cross reaches Étienne Capoue, who forwards the ball from the right position into the penalty area. Dia just has to push it in.
  • 41 minutes: Capoue flicks a cross into the penalty area, Francis Coquelin climbs three floors higher than Trent Alexander-Arnold and beheads his team to make it 2-0. In the meantime, the miracle has already been accomplished during the break.

A suspicious number of misplays had an effect like sand on the otherwise smoothly functioning Liverpool offensive gear.

Break tea breathes life into Liverpool

After the break tea, the balance of power on the Villarreal pitch changed. The hosts, who conquered Bayern and Juve, paid tribute to the intense intensity of the first half, with Liverpool coming on and creating chances.

After all, it was only a matter of time before Liverpool also scored. After an hour, the English fans were redeemed:

After 7 unbeaten home games in the Champions League, Villarreal once again suffered a defeat. For Liverpool, meanwhile, the dream of the quadruple lives on.

This is how it goes

In the final, the English will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid. The second semi-final second leg takes place in the Spanish capital on Wednesday (kick-off at 9pm). Manchester City won the spectacular first leg 4:3 in front of a home crowd.

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