Unai Emery, the manager of Villarreal, believes his club has earned the right to face Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals.
“The finest Liverpool team” has been described by manager Unai Emery as the greatest he’s ever seen by the Spaniards in the previous knockout stages.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has cautioned Liverpool that they would not repeat Bayern Munich’s blunder in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Emery said, “We deserve to be here.” “Any team that has advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League has earned their place there.
“Knowing that we have a strong presence in Europe and have eliminated two great clubs [in Juventus and Bayern] gives Liverpool confidence. This will be a challenge for them, and they know it. I don’t recall a better Liverpool team than this one. Of course, they’ll think of us as favourites, but they’ll also be respectful of us.”
After defeating Manchester United in a penalty shootout to win the Europa League, Villarreal grabbed headlines for the first time in their European history.
Dani Parejo, a Villarreal midfielder, remarked, “It’s not by luck that we are here.” “At this point in our history, Villarreal has only reached the semifinals of a major European competition twice in its existence. Stability, hard effort, faith in a project, and allowing employees sufficient time to do their tasks are the only things that can make this happen.”
Liverpool overcame Benfica 6-4 on aggregate in the previous elimination round and are aiming to reach a third Champions League final in five seasons at Villarreal’s cost in this year’s final.
This is a larger problem for us than ever before, Emery said. “There is no longer any element of surprise. They are the tournament’s overwhelming favourite. When it comes to playing with excitement and energy, the squad mirrors their coach, Jurgen Klopp. They’ve landed on their feet.”
Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery has no good memories of his time at Anfield, where he spent 18 months in command.
It was “difficult” to face Liverpool at Anfield, he admitted. “I’m familiar with Klopp’s work and the resulting brand, which has since been refined.
“That gives me even more drive to defeat Liverpool’s finest team ever. To do so, we’ll need to present our finest work.”
Even though Villarreal has failed to win any of their last eight away games in all competitions in England, they can draw confidence from their strong performances in their last two European away outings, including their 3-0 win over Juventus and their 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Villarreal midfielder Dani Parejo described the atmosphere at Anfield as “amazing, unbelievable.” “It’s tough not to be impacted by the atmosphere there, but we’ll try to concentrate on the game and our game plan,” says the coach. “
With Yeremy Pino out injured and Gerard Moreno still recovering from a hamstring ailment, Villarreal will not be at full strength when they go to Liverpool.