Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has insisted that the semi final clash between his side and Villarreal is far from over despite falling to a 1-0 defeat at the Estadio El Madrigal.
Adrian Lopez’s goal came as result of poor defending by the Liverpool defense which eventually allowed Denis Suarez roll the ball to the path of Lopez to grab a late winner for the Yellow Submarines.
The German tactician admitted, the defensive error caused them the game, but is adamant the tie is not yet over as Villarreal will have to travel to Anfield next week.
“Of course I’m not too happy with the goal we conceded in the last second. Counter-attacking in the 92nd minute makes not much sense but it is only the first leg. It is 1-0 and they have to come to Anfield where we know how strong we are,” he told BT Sport.
“We had our moments, we defended really good. This race is not over. If we had enough players in around the box it was no problem but they played this one chip ball over Kolo [Toure], I don’t know where Alberto [Moreno] was in this moment but that was the only big mistake we made in this game and they scored with it.
“Nintey minutes played, 95, we will play at Anfield and that is a different game then.”
There could be bad omen for the Anfield boys as four of the last five teams to have lost 1-0 in the away first leg of a UEFA Cup/Europa League semi-final have gone on to reach the final, however the exception was Liverpool themselves in 2010.
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