How does it feel after qualifying for the third Champions League final in five seasons?
It seems that there have been three in 20 years. We have been fantastic. We complicated life, but we knew it could happen. Life is about how you react when things go wrong. They had the match ahead. Villarreal deserves a lot of respect, for their stadium, their team, their coach… they are incredible! They put us under pressure, man-marking all over the field. They didn’t let us play. We had to change the face of the game, take advantage of the spaces and force ourselves to participate more and play better. Suddenly we broke lines and found partners like Keïta. Alexander-Arnold also had space. There was more movement and more flexibility. Suddenly we were in the game, we scored and it was over.
What did you say to your players at the break?
Our problem was that we knew what we were doing wrong at the break, it was obvious, but we didn’t find situations that gave us a little life. We focus on what we do well, but we didn’t have our day. There were several things that had to be changed at the break, but the most important thing was the reaction of the boys. It was clear that we had to play our football. We were calm because… I accept it. If Villarreal had played the second half like the first, or we had played the second half like the first, they would be the ones who would be in the final. 3-0 was closer than 2-1, but we were still in the tie and we had to try. And in the end that’s what we did.
Did Luis Díaz change the game?
We weren’t flexible enough in the first half. Mané and Salah had their positions set and Jota had a little more space, but we couldn’t find him. That’s why we had to try to mix the long game and the short game. It wasn’t about who was going to get into the game, it was about how we were going to start playing.
You got rid of the pressure in the second half…
They had to change. Jota was looking for his teammates, but they weren’t ready because they marked the man and we could only pass by making easy and short passes, and when they recovered they went out with Parejo. It didn’t make sense, so we played more inside. We had to be more compact, close spaces and look for the goal from there.
Who do you prefer in the final in Paris?
Whoever happens, it will be very hard. I can not choose. Whoever passes will do so deservedly and we will face them in Paris.