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Villarreal Lead 2-0 At Half Time As The Shock Comeback Is On

Villarreal Lead 2-0 At Half Time As The Shock Comeback Is On

Liverpool were expected to make an easy way into the Champions League final but found themselves 2-0 down at half time in Spain.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Villarreal gave hope of one of the biggest comeback shocks in the history of the Champions League, by taking a 2-0 lead into halftime of their semi final second leg against Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp's side arrived in Spain with a 2-0 lead from the home leg just six days ago, with the expectation that they would do enough to go through.

However things took their first twist after just two minutes, with Boulaye Dia getting the hosts off to a perfect start and piling on the pressure.

Unai Emery's team had most of the early running but couldn't quite find a way through to equalise, before Mohamed Salah had the Reds' best chance of the game.

There was controversy late in the first half when on loan Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso felt he was brought down by Alisson Becker, but the replays suggested the Argentinian might have jumped into the keeper.

However just minutes later, Coquelin jumped unchallenged in the air and nodded home from Etienne Capoue's cross, after he got past Andrew Robertson.

Villarreal had shocked both Juventus and Bayern Munich to get to the final four of the tournament, having needed a win over Atalanta in the final group game just to get into the knockout stages.

Even ahead of the first leg it was being suggested that beating Liverpool would be a step too far, with the Premier League team still hunting an incredible quadruple.

The Europa League champions weren't able to make much of an impact on the game at Anfield and didn't manage a single shot on target.

That led to talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy to call the Spanish side a 'disgrace to the Champions League,' an opinion that looked misguided at the time and has aged terribly.

But Liverpool needed some look to win the first leg, with an own goal and some VAR controversy handing them their two goals on the night.

Liverpool players shell shocked after Villarreal's second. Image: PA Images
Liverpool players shell shocked after Villarreal's second. Image: PA Images

Klopp's side haven't been behind too many times in recent weeks but at least when they have they've managed to turn things around, as they did against Manchester City in the Premier League.

Will they be able to get the goal they need or can Villarreal see out one of the greatest European comebacks ever?

Featured Image Credit: BT Sport

Topics: Champions League, Liverpool, Villarreal, Premier League, La Liga

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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@Sidler28