Former Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes believes that the Reds’ Europa League semi-final opponents Villarreal should be feared ahead of the first leg tomorrow night.
Liverpool’s reward for their astonishing comeback victory against Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals a fortnight ago is a trip to El Madrigal where they must defeat La Liga’s fourth-placed side Villarreal to reach the the final in Basel next month.
The Spanish side are certainly a difficult opponent and, considering Liverpool have already defeated Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, they were confident of whoever they were going to draw in the last four.
Many people celebrated the fact that they avoided the reigning champions, Sevilla, and the very dangerous Shakhtar Donetsk side, but Morientes has warned fans that Villarreal are a side that should be feared.
“For me, Villarreal is one of the best teams in La Liga at the moment. They have real quality,” Morientes said, via the Mirror. “Everyone said they are the best team for Liverpool to face in the last four, but they are ahead of [holders and fellow semi-finalists] Sevilla in La Liga and a better side.
“They play very good football. They have a very strong mentality and the coach always tries to attack. It’s always the same. They are a team to be feared – a very good team who will play in the Champions League next season for sure, and will do well in the competition.”
The Yellow Submarine’s success this season has come off the back of a superb defence as they have kept 16 clean sheets in La Liga and conceded just 31 goals – two more than Barcelona and one fewer than Real Madrid.
Liverpool have a tough task of breaking them down and scoring enough goals to see them through, though they did hit five over two legs against Borussia Dortmund, including four in the second half of their second leg.
COMMENTS