Jurgen Klopp says Anfield must channel the energy and excitement of perhaps Liverpool ’s greatest-ever Euro night, to deliver another Champions League final.
The Reds face Spanish opposition again in another huge semi-final at the famous old stadium, as they face Villarreal three years on from the legendary defeat of Barcelona, which went down in football history. The Liverpool manager knows this time is different with his side now heavy favourites for the first leg, but that is precisely why he pleaded with fans and players to create exactly the same atmosphere which destroyed Barca that night.
In a passionate rally call for the same intimidating wall of sound and emotion, he said: “We need the atmosphere, we need the performance. We need a big game. We need to be on top of our game, I need to be on top of my game. It is the semi-final of the Champions League. If it was easy then something would be completely wrong.
“I can’t wait, even in this tactics schedule, with this kind of week, City, United, Everton, if you need a next game to be 1000 percent in, then yeah, bring on Villarreal in the semi final of the Champions League.” Klopp revealed he told his players way back in January that they must treat every game as a final if they were to turn around a campaign where Manchester City were out of sight at the top of the Premier League.
And he said that still applies, with a difficult opponent in Villarreal, who have beaten the mighty Juventus and Bayern Munich on their way to the semi. “It was obvious, we were 14 points behind, we just decided ‘let’s give it a try’. We had big expectations, big ambitions, and then we played an okay season until then but not an outstanding season. But there was still something to go for.
“Since then it is the case that each game is a final. It didn’t change. If we want to do something we have to start now, otherwise it will be over before we start. The mindset was like this, it is like this, and we will give it a proper go.” What Liverpool need is the sort of ferocious atmosphere which not only pulverised the mighty Barcelona, it delivered a devastating blow to the club identity which they are still to recover from three years later.
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And Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson said the situation is simple: he and the rest of his team must set the tone for the fans, to give them something to be get behind against a dangerous Villarreal: “100 percent, we need the same performance as against Barca,” he said. “We invested everything into the semi-final against Barcelona, both away and home and we got our rewards in the end but it wasn’t easy. It was incredibly tough.
“That applies tomorrow and in the away leg for sure. Very difficult team, very good team, very good players. We need to be at our very, very best and that only gives us a chance of winning. We have to do our job on the pitch for the fans. European nights at Anfield are always special, and hopefully that is the case again tomorrow night.
“But we need to perform at the levels we are capable of, because it’s a two-way thing with the supporters. The crowd I am sure will be there and we need to make sure we are too.” Liverpool are without Roberto Firmino for the semi, with Klopp revealing he needs a few days longer to recover from a foot injury.
