Villarreal seek perfection to beat near flawless Liverpool

Villarreal aim to rekindle the spirit that saw off Juventus and Bayern Munich when they bid to overturn a 2-0 deficit in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Liverpool on Tuesday (May 3).

A 2-1 LaLiga loss to lowly Alaves was not ideal preparation and coach Unai Emery knows how hard it will be to beat Liverpool, who have only lost three matches this season in all competitions and none by more than two goals.

“We have to play a perfect game, we have to look for our excellence or be close to it and provoke something that nobody has provoked them,” Emery told a news conference on Monday (May 2), acknowledging how superior Juergen Klopp side is compared to almost any other rival in soccer nowadays.

“We managed to defend well many chances that could have increased the goals against, we come at home with the mentality that they have being favourites but we are very excited."

Emery explained that his team is happy to make their presence felt in the Champions League but said they are not satisfied with only reaching the semi-finals.

After eliminating former champions Juventus in the last 16 and beating Bayern in the quarter-finals, the former Paris Saint Germain and Arsenal manager wants his players and fans to believe Villarreal are ready to deliver another shock.

“Tomorrow the predominant colour will be yellow and the feeling of pride and the feeling of something natural, we are here and we want to play the final,” he said.