Jurgen Klopp admits he was taught a lesson by Villarreal boss Unai Emery as he attempted to plot Liverpool’s route to the Champions League final.
The Reds have taken control of their semi-final tie against the Spaniards after winning the first leg 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday.
The game was in stark contrast to the previous night’s semi-final in which Manchester City edged Real Madrid 4-3 in a thriller.
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And when asked whether he would have preferred to have been involved in such a match, Klopp highlighted his admiration for the work of Emery.
“I never saw a wishlist for this kind of thing where you choose which team you want to face,” said the Reds boss. “We got Villarreal and I couldn’t respect more what they do.
“The way they are organised was kind of a lesson for me again. When I did the analysis I thought ‘wow, that’s really, really cool and really good’ and again tonight as well. But we should not forget we are really good as well. It’s a duel on a really high level, who can push it through a little bit more.”
Liverpool held a three-goal advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Roma in 2018 but were forced to hold on to a 7-6 aggregate success.
Klopp, though, has dismissed comparisons of the Reds of that season, and said: “We didn’t go to Roma thinking we are through. We knew from the round before they gave Barcelona a proper knock with a similar scoreline.
“But I didn’t think for a second about that. It’s a different team, we are different (now). We are 2-0 up and that’s better than before the game but we know we’re not through. So keep going. No problem.”
