In the early morning of April 28, Beijing time, the first leg of the Champions League semi-final continued, with Liverpool playing at home against Villarreal. At the end of the first half, the score was still 0-0, and Liverpool had the advantage, with 67% of the ball and 12 shots on goal, but still could not break through Villarreal's goal.
Previously, in the quarter-finals, Villarreal broke out of the big cold, eliminating the championship favorite Bayern Munich 2-1 on aggregate, liverpool refused to upset, and eliminated Benfica 6-4 on aggregate. This is the first time the two teams have met in the Champions League, and the previous two meetings have been in the Europa League, where they have won at home.
Liverpool have advanced for the 12th time compared to Villarreal's second promotion to the Champions League semi-finals, after nine of the previous 11 passes, with a promotion rate of 82%. As manager, Klopp has the potential to become the first England team in history to lead Liverpool to four consecutive titles in a single season.
In this battle, Liverpool sent Salah, Mane and Luis Díaz forward trident combination, Villarreal sent five defenders, and Danjuma played as a single arrow.
After the opening, Liverpool besieged Villarreal's backline and completed multiple shots. In the 6th minute, Fabinho sent a picky cross and Robertson's header went out of the line. In the 12th minute, Salah's cross was met by Mane's unattended header into the penalty area, missing a good opportunity. In the 13th minute, a cold arrow broke out from outside the Díaz penalty area and goalkeeper Lully saved.
In the 16th minute, Thiago's volley from outside the box bounced off the ground and goalkeeper Lully struggled to save the ball. In the 27th minute, Mane returned from the penalty area and Salah arced the ball high above goal. In the 31st minute, Luis Díaz's furious shot was saved by goalkeeper Lully. In the 33rd minute, Mane's shot came out of the post. In the 36th minute, Alexander-Arnold crossed and Salah fired high over the ball. In the 41st minute, Thiago's long-range shot from outside the penalty area popped up on the neutral post.
At the end of the first half, Liverpool still had no way to break through Villarreal's goal, and the score continued to be 0-0. Statistics show that Liverpool has a possession rate of 67%, only 2 shots on target after completing 12 shots, and Villarreal only 1 shot on goal, the scene is one-sided, and the score has not changed.
In the last away game, Villarreal was very tenacious against Bayern, only conceding one goal, and now there is no goal conceded in the first half against Liverpool, a cold goal is brewing, and Emery does have a set of rules to lead the team to European competition.