London (AFP)
Jurgen Klopp pushed him at the break, and Colombian Luis Diaz was at the good thought of his German coach, as he changed the face of his team and the course of a match that had been decided at the end of the first half in favor of Villarreal of Spain 2-0, to turn his back to a 3-2 victory and put the “Reds” in the final The Champions League is six games away from a historic quartet.
Liverpool stands on the threshold of completing all 63 matches in one season, when it finishes the 38 Premier League competitions, in addition to 6 matches in the Cup, where it reached the final to face Chelsea, and the same in the League Cup, which it also won at the expense of Chelsea and 13 In the parent continental competition.
Here is Liverpool, who booked their seat at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on May 28, for their 10th Champions League final and their third in the last five years.
However, Tuesday evening’s match at “La Ceramica” stadium, which carried the number 57, almost broke the dreams of the English club with an unprecedented quartet in England, despite a raging calendar, but in the end he found the energy and source to stick to his dream.
Within 45 minutes, Liverpool lost his identity after Villarreal “strangled” him, seeking to avenge his 0-2 loss in the semi-finals, as the numbers indicated the horror of what is happening inside the green rectangle with less than 70% of successful passes, while this percentage reached 90% 6 days ago at home, he also gave in to the struggles and looked lost on the pitch…
Klopp didn’t need to raise his voice in the dressing room during the break, all he needed were a few tactical adjustments to push Ghanaian Naby Keita a little forward, and to shove Diaz in order to add more violations and use more pitch, just to remind the basics of the game plan… The magic worked.
It was almost certain that the Spaniards would not hold out for the 90 minutes or perform the first 45 minutes, but with Diaz, Klopp wanted to inflict harm on the “yellow subs”, rejecting the idea of qualifying for the final with minimal effort.
Immediately upon entering the field, Diaz loosened his weight and exhausted his opponent’s defenses thanks to his explosiveness and provocations with the ball and his superb positioning, and best picture of that was his header that brought his team a 2-2 draw and shattered Villarreal’s confidence.
Diaz played his 64th game this season, moving between Porto and Liverpool and performing his duties with the Colombian national team. Since his arrival at Anfield in January, he was “exceptional”, said the Scotsman Andy Robertson, who shares with the Colombian the left hall after Tuesday’s match.
He added, “The talent he has and his will to win, fits perfectly” with the Reds, and “when Lewis entered, he made a big difference and started pushing them back, taking the ball to dribble. A great second run.
“I think if he went through the whole pre-season with us, he could be better, and that’s scary,” Robertson added.
On BT Sports, former Liverpool glories such as Michael Owen and Peter Crouch predicted a key place for Dias in the final.
But by the expected date, Liverpool will have played the last 4 matches in the Premier League, as part of its quest to regain the title, hoping that City will falter.
Liverpool will also have played the cup final two weeks before the Stade de France match.
Six matches and six finals: If a team can write history, no one is more deserving of it than the old wizard of the continent, Liverpool, who does not seem to want to abdicate or go it alone, as the famous song says.
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