Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to the media ahead of our Europa League semi-final against Villarreal in Spain.
He warned against the counter-attacking threat posed by opponents, calling them “unbelievably strong with really good balance”.
“What Villarreal have shown each week, being fourth in the Spanish league, is the highest level of football,” Klopp said.
“They are unbelievably strong with really good balance. Really good structure in their game – good defending, very disciplined, good counter-attacks. They have everything you need to be a good team. We watched Villarreal maybe six times. They are really confident in the things they do.
“They are patient enough to wait for your mistakes and then use these mistakes. We have to play the game Villarreal don’t like – that is what we have to do.
“They are a good club in a small city in Spain. They have made a lot of good decisions to be here. And we should not hope that they will only make wrong decisions in this game. We have to be prepared for our best game.” (via Echo).
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The Spaniards are not in their finest form ahead of the game – they’ve only won two of their last nine league matches and have lost two of their last three. In Europe, however, their form is much better; they have won all six of their home games this season’s Europa League and have knocked out Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen, and Sparta Prague.
They are currently fourth in La Liga, four points clear of Celta Vigo and inside the Champions League berths with just three games to go.