Jürgen Klopp was cautious ahead of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Villarreal.
Is the job done?
Of course not. We’re just on break. We have to try to win knowing that Villarreal will go with everything. It’s a semi-final, it should be tough. We never expected it to be easy, but we played a good game at home and now we need to play another one away from home.
You never know if we will play another semi-final. We have an exceptional team, but you also need luck, so it’s best to be careful. We will do. If Villarreal get a good result and beat us, we’ll congratulate them and that’s it.
What is the importance of the maturity and previous experiences of the team?
Maturity and experience are important, but not the most decisive. Tomorrow night we have to give everything in us. We have to be ready to play a very good game. They will try to play much more than we let them in the first leg.
I’m sure Unai will try to adapt some things. It will be very interesting. Maturity is important, but it is not the only thing.
How does Liverpool approach this match after winning every Champions League outing?
We don’t win games by locking in and fighting back. We try to play our game, and we have to do it again. We have to be ready to suffer and to defend at times, but not as a general approach.
About team confidence.
Having already qualified for the next Champions League is quite a feat. We must have done something right in the last few months. The problem is that now everything is perfect, but if we start a game on the wrong foot, everything changes. We know that we are in a good moment.
On Firmino’s loss and Thiago’s moment of form
Firmino is starting to run. It’s nothing serious, but he hurts when he steps on it. He will travel with us but he is not summoned. Tsimikas, Jones and Origi had stomach problems, but they are all fine now. In the state he is in, Thiago can play for any team, and with the Spanish national team as well. It just so happened that he was injured when he arrived here and that Spain had many other options. In the state he is in now he could play for any national team.
Alexander-Arnold: “We have a good advantage, but it is dangerous”
What is the plan for the second leg in Villarreal?
go to win We know we can’t afford to lose in the game they want to play, we have to make sure we get through. We have a good advantage, but it is dangerous. We cannot be complacent.
Anything can happen, they are a great team that can beat any great team. We saw it with Juve and Bayern. They do not have the role of favorites, but we cannot trust them. We are only at half time, the next goal will be vital in the tie.
On the possibility of reaching another final.
It’s been an excellent season so far. We’ve beaten a lot of big teams. We hope to control the game and play our third Champions League final in five seasons.
In the last two semifinals we had it difficult and we had to suffer. We hope this time it will be easier, but the best teams in the world are in the semi-finals of the Champions League, so it will be difficult. We have players, a coaching staff and a world-class coach. We are in a good position and we will try to take advantage of it.
About Klopp’s contract extension.
I hope those two extra years are successful. With him, every year we have more successes. It’s been special so far, and we can do something even more special. I hope we have four more years like this.
When we found out we didn’t have a big party. It’s hard to take in this kind of news when you play match after match. When we stop to think about it we will realize that it is good news, but right now we are focused. He didn’t talk about it, so we continue working as usual.