Liverpool hosts Villarreal at Anfield for the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, as the Reds are on track for a possible quadruple – having won the EFL Cup, and set for the FA Cup finals against Chelsea next month. In the Premier League too, the Merseyside club is contending with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for the title. 

Ahead of the crucial CL fixture, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp spoke to reporters, saying “We know that when we go to Villarreal, whichever result we get tomorrow night, it will be an incredibly emotional atmosphere there”. The German added, “And that’s what we have to create tomorrow night as well. That’s how it is.” 

Most sides don’t favour a home game in the first leg because supporters play a large role in the result of the deciding fixture. 

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Klopp addressed this, saying “It’s nice if you play away first, then you have the result and you can fight for it at home with your crowd. But who cares? That’s how it is.”, and added, “We have to make sure that we really are completely on top of our game, everybody in the stadium.”

The 54-year-old concluded, “Our supporters are smart supporters, they know and they watch football, they know that Villarreal is really strong.” 

Klopp’s comments are cemented in a long history, where Liverpool fans, known as the Kopites, have come through for their team. Seated at the Kop end, they create an electric atmosphere at Anfield with their chants and cheers, not to mention the moving Liverpool anthem – “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. 

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Bill Shankly, who coached Liverpool, gaining the club entry into the first division spoke of the Kop end, saying “Forget the Beatles and all the rest. This is the real Liverpool sound. It’s real singing, and it’s what the Kop is all about.” (The Kop: Liverpool’s Twelfth Man, Stephen F Kelly)

The German coach, who lost a Europa League final to his Spanish counterpart, during Unai Emery’s time at Sevilla six years back, also noted that Liverpool wouldn’t make the same mistake that Juventus and Bayern Munich did, which led to underdogs Villarreal knocking two giants out of the tournament. 

“It is a massive game”, he started by saying, before continuing, “So many coaches out there work their socks off their whole life and have no chance to be close to a semi-final so we have to enjoy it.” 

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Klopp also said, “There might have been a little advantage in the last two games. Maybe Juve or Bayern underestimated them, but that will never happen to us.” 

The German manager appreciated Villarreal’s journey too, noting “They are still a really good football team who wants to make history as well. It would be the first time they go to a final, which would be a massive thing to Villarreal, but it is to us the same importance.” 

When asked about the 2016 loss to Emery, Klopp said he hadn’t thought about it for a while. 

Liverpool’s coach stated, “I said it that night, I think that we would come back, without knowing we would come back, but at that moment I really thought we had a chance to come back stronger and we did”, adding, “Would it have been anything different since then if we had we won that night? I don’t think so.” 

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Klopp concluded, “I would have loved to have lifted that trophy that night but you have to learn from these things and that’s what we tried to do.” 

Liverpool have had a terrific run, plummeting Manchester United 4-0 and winning a hard-fought Merseyside derby, scoring two against Everton without conceding any in the PL. Villarreal have won their last two La Liga fixtures too, against Getafe and Valencia, but are overall seventh in the league table.