Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on Sunday warned that Villarreal would “go after” his team in the second-leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final, as Unai Emery promised to find and exploit the Reds’ weaknesses.

At his pre-match press conference, reporters asked Klopp about whether he felt Liverpool had the tie wrapped up, going into the game with a 2-0 advantage.

“When I was younger I would have been really angry now because of the question!,” was Klopp’s reply.

Also read | UEFA suspends more Russian teams from its competitions over Ukraine war

“If it would be a cup game, only one game and it would be decided and we would have to go to Villarreal, we would try to win there. That’s what we want to try there. Knowing that they will go with all they have,” the German added.

While Liverpool played and won a tough fixture against Newcastle this weekend to stay in the Premier League title race, Unai Emery rested eight players for his team’s La Liga clash with 19th-placed Alaves, which Villarreal lost 2-1.

Also read | Will Richarlison be banned for throwing flare in Everton vs Chelsea?

Despite their loss, however, Villarreal will be going into the second-leg of the semi-final the fresher side, and will have the support of the home crowd, which may spark a comeback.

“We have to be ready to play a top, top, top, top game, because they will go for us,” Klopp said, well aware of Villarreal’s potential and Emery’s experience in Europe.

Also read | Xavi congratulates Real Madrid for La Liga title as Barcelona beat Mallorca

“High press, they will try to play much more football than we allowed them in the first game. Because of changing eight players and two [only] playing 45 minutes, I’m pretty sure yesterday they had a normal session. So Unai will for sure try to adapt a few things to our style in this short spell. It will be really interesting, definitely,” the 54-year-old explained.

As for team news, Klopp confirmed that Roberto Firmino, out with a foot injury, would be unavailable for the tie, making it his fifth absence. He added that there were “no [other] concerns” apart from the Brazilian.

Due to the Reds’ 2-0 win in the first leg, anything but a loss on Tuesday will ensure Liverpool’s place in the Champions League final, where they will face either title rivals Manchester City or European royalty Real Madrid, with those two sides set to play the second-leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.