Anyone who expects Liverpool to continue calmly to a new final in the Champions League tonight has obviously not paid attention.
Forget it, the Reds conquered their European destiny by beating Villarreal 2-0 at Anfield last week in their first semi-final match. Also ignore that Jurgen Klopp’s side have lost just three times in their last 65 games and are chasing an unprecedented four against the team as Europa League winners shuffle in the middle of the table in La Liga.
Recent history suggests that Liverpool will have to dig deep here in Spain, as it was made to suffer in contrasting fashions before sealing its place in two of the last four exhibits in the Champions League.
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The Reds showed what is possible in 2019, when they returned from 3-0 in the first game to drive out Barcelona, and last year almost avoided a similar nightmare, although they went to Roma with a 5-2 advantage. In fact, Liverpool have not won any of their last five semi-final matches as guests in the competition, losing the last four, conceding 11 goals.
The fact that the “reds” won all the bars at once – and in general have advanced from nine of 11 such draws – emphasizes that there is no reason to fear. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold admits that Klopp’s people would be wise to learn from the nervous experiences of the recent past.
“Looking back on the previous two semi-finals, we made it quite difficult for ourselves, especially in the rematch, where we had to dig deep and see the match,” he said. “I hope this time we will make it a little easier.
“But you don’t take these things for granted. With four other teams in it, the four are always there with the best teams in the world. This is what we are facing. Moving away from home, we expect the fans of Villarreal to really put pressure on them and make it difficult for us, as well as the way they will play. We expect a difficult match. But we went through our analysis and pointed out their strengths and weaknesses, and we hope we can use that to our advantage.
If Alexander-Arnold’s words reflect the thinking of the Liverpool team, there seems to be little chance for the guests to rest on their laurels tonight, although the Reds have advanced in the previous 15 cases when they won the first match 2-0 in Europe. Ultimately, success can be fleeting.
“It’s easy to get that complacency from having world-class players, world-class staff and a world-class manager, this is our third semi-final in five years, we’ll probably get there again and we’ll get there again,” he said. back. “But this is not the case with us. We do not know if we will get this opportunity again.
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“Anything can happen in football. Villarreal knocked out Juventus and Bayern and they thrived as outsiders and are coping. We expect any result. We do not go there with the thought that we will lose, but we understand that if we are not 100%, then we can lose. But we know that if we are 100%, then we can win. “
Alexander-Arnold will return to the starting line-up tonight after being on the bench for the Premier League victory at Newcastle United over the weekend, where he was spotted laughing at Jordan Henderson’s wayward free kick. “I kept it in my ear for that!” the defender laughs.
And still only 23 years old, the young man at home is as excited about the prospect of arriving in Paris later this month as he was in Kyiv in 2018 and Madrid 12 months later.
“When you get so close to him, you start to have memories of how you felt before, the special feelings you share with family, teammates and staff,” says Alexander-Arnold. “It’s an exciting time. One match to get there again is exciting for us. We worked hard this season and have had an excellent campaign so far and we have had many difficult opponents.
“When you think about that time last season, we struggled to get back in the top four and secure the Champions League. So to be here now second in the table, a point from Manchester City, a rematch of the Champions League semi-final, the FA Cup final, who can complain? This is a very special season for all of us and we hope that we will be able to experience it and by the end of May we will be back in history textbooks. ”
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