Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on Villarreal manager Unai Emery ahead of Liverpool's meeting with the Spanish side in the Champions League semi-finals.
To the surprise of many, the Yellow Submarine got the better of Bayern Munich over two legs to reach the last four of the competition and are now the side standing in the Reds' way of the showpiece fixture in Paris. Guided by former Arsenal manager Unai Emery, Villarreal have exceeded all expectations in the competition to progress past Juventus and Bayern and will now have hopes of causing an upset against the Reds.
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Emery has developed somewhat of a reputation in recent years for being a cup specialist, having won the Europa League three times in the space of three seasons with Sevilla between 2013 and 2016. Liverpool were one of the teams the Spanish coach got the better of, winning 3-1 in the 2016 final to deny Klopp's men silverware and a place in Europe's elite competition.
Commenting on the exceptional achievement of Liverpool's upcoming opponents, Klopp told BT Sport: "If I could do an analysis of Villarreal right now that would be very strange. I saw the results, the game was very impressive. I only picked up pieces but to beat Juventus and Bayern Munich they deserve to be in the Champions League semi-finals. Unai Emery is the king of the cups, it is unbelievable what he is doing. But give me a bit of time to prepare it properly."
Liverpool have already faced off against Villarreal in the semi-finals of a European competition once before, having gone head-to-head in the latter stages of the Europa League back in the 2015/16 season. Unable to defeat Emery's Sevilla side in the final, it was an evening to forget in Basel for the Reds.
Emery and Klopp later went head-to-head in the Premier League following Arsenal's appointment of the successful 50-year-old.
