Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville says he 'respected' the way Villarreal played at Anfield following the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday night.
The Reds secured a crucial win in the first leg of their semi-final clash, following a deflected effort from Jordan Henderson and a Sadio Mane goal. The second leg takes place on Tuesday at El Madrigal with a place in the final at stake.
Unai Emery's side aren't the first team to come to Anfield and sit deep in hope of keeping Liverpool 's forwards quiet, but former Manchester United defender Neville has defended the approach.
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He told The Gary Neville Podcast : “I actually really enjoyed the Liverpool vs Villarreal game. I respected that game, a team (who are) massive underdogs playing so deep. But I just thought the discipline of Liverpool, the persistence and the way they carried on doing the right things.
“Liverpool are a team who can win football matches in different ways. They can out box you, they can go toe to toe and punch to punch and they can also be patient and they can wait and pass it around. They don’t panic.”
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has already declared he expects an entirely different game when his side travel to Spain next week. Villarreal will be in search of a goal in order to reduce the deficit and give themselves a chance of progressing.
Klopp told his post-match press conference on Wednesday: “It is a dangerous scoreline. How much work is left to do? The full work.
"Nothing has happened yet, that’s how it is. It’s 2-0 at half-time and you have to be completely on alert and 100% in the right mood."
