Mohamed Salah did not mince words and expressed the desire for revenge in statements to BT Sport: “If I’m honest, I want to play against Real Madrid. City are a good team and we have already played against them several times this season. I want to play against Real Madrid because we lost a final against them. And I want to win this time.”
Virgil van Dijk, one of the captains, took stock after the match in front of the BT Sport cameras. It was the slogan that was repeated in the previous press conferences, and surely also in the Liverpool dressing room. It was necessary to avoid conceding a morning goal, but after three minutes, Boulaye Dia opened the scoring. Erratic and confused, Klopp’s men saw how Villarreal leveled the tie before the break. But then those from Anfield woke up. They found spaces and found the goals. And also the ticket to his third Champions League final in five seasons.
How did you manage to turn the game around?
With hard work. We have to forget about the first half as soon as possible. We weren’t aggressive enough with the ball, we didn’t play well enough. It also didn’t help that we were marked early. We were amazing in the second half. With the ball, without it, moving with speed. Playing like this we made it difficult for them with our pressure and our runs. It was a deserved victory if you look at the second part.
What did Klopp tell you at the break?
let us play That we played football the Liverpool way, as we have done all season. That we had the ball and we also moved behind his defense. With our speed we had to mix up our game a bit. We also had to show our desire to go to the final. We dominated and played very well in the second half.
What has been the impact of Luis Díaz in the game?
Amazing. He is very good at one on one. No matter who he faces, he’s not scared or anything. And if he loses the ball, he tries to get it back as soon as possible and face it again. It is very difficult to defend.
What happened in the first half?
We were not good. There was no movement and we made the wrong decisions. We lost the ball in difficult situations, when we were more open. The first goal added more pressure on us. It would be very unfair to us to look at the first part after what we have just achieved. Nobody can take for granted what we have already achieved this season, we don’t. We move on, we have a few nice weeks ahead.
We played better at the weekend in Newcastle, where people were also very supportive of their team. We silenced them by playing better than we did today. This was a totally different scenario. They had nothing to lose, they were playing the biggest match in their history. Of course they were going to throw the rest. We should enjoy this moment, tonight, and then focus on Tottenham.
Which team do you prefer in the final?
Any team will be a nightmare. We know a lot about City, and they know us. We know how they can adapt and how intense the matches against them are. And Real Madrid is Real Madrid. It is a very big team and they have a very fit striker. Tomorrow I will watch the game while I recover.