Europa League: Liverpool set up final date with Sevilla; Villarreal and Shakhtar Donetsk sent packing
Liverpool saw off 10-man Villarreal to seal a spot in the Europa League final with a 3-0 win at Anfield on Thursday. Goals from Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and an own goal from Bruno Soriano saw the Reds beat the Yellow Submarine 3-1 on aggregate.
At the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in Seville, defending champions Sevilla beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 to win the tie 5-3 on aggregate. Kevin Gameiro was the hero again for the Spanish side as they reached their third consecutive final in the competition.
Liverpool 3-0 Villarreal (3-1 on aggregate)
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Moreno, Can, Milner (C), Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho, Sturridge
Villarreal: Areola, Mario, Musacchio, Victor, Costa, Dos Santos, Pina, Bruno (C), Suarez, Soldado, Bakambu
With Mamadou Sakho suspended, Jurgen Klopp opted to go with Kolo Toure and Dejan Lovren in central defence. Emre Can started in midfield alongside James Milner in midfield while Daniel Sturridge led the line. Roberto Soldado and Cedric Bakambu started up front for Villarreal as they settled into their 4-4-2 formation.
As a special rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ rang out an Anfield to celebrate the landmark judgement that saw families of the 96 fans who died at Hillsborough finally get justice after 27 long years, a mosaic that read ‘The Greatest Football Family’ was formed by the fans at Anfield.
Liverpool profit from early own goal
Although Villarreal had the first real chance on goal when Soldado chested down a cross which allowed Dos Santos to take a shot. However, the shot was well saved by Simon Mignolet.
The Reds did get their lead as early as the seventh minute, although it was thanks to an own goal. Nathaniel Clyne whipped a ball across the face of the goal which wasn’t handled by any player in a Villarreal shirt. Firmino picked up the ball at the far post sent in a cross which Sturridge managed to make contact with. Unfortunately for Villarreal, the ball came off captain Bruno Soriano and deflected into the net to see Klopp’s side level the aggregate score.
The two sides had an equal share of the possession in the first half with the Reds looking to profit from many corner kicks that went their way. Villarreal goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was up to the task, though, collecting deliveries into the box on a couple of occasions.
Denis Suarez, the man who provided the all-important assist in the dying minutes of the first leg, had yet another chance on a quick counter-attack before Lovren dispossessed the Spanish midfielder with a superb challenge. Lovren was at it again when he stopped Soldado in his tracks and the forward tried to take his frustration out on the defender who made a meal of a grabbed ankle before the referee arrived to settle matters without any bookings.
But the Spanish forward lost his head soon after as his frustration got the better of him. An unnecessary and poor tackle on Coutinho saw the referee stop play and pull out the yellow card, giving Marcelino a headache on whether to continue with Soldado in the second half or try and calm him down at half-time.
Bakambu had a chance to equalise with the last kick of the half when a pass found him inside the box. The 25-year-old forward tried to take a shot first time but Lovren was on hand again to prevent a shot on goal as the referee opted to end the half without any injury time.
Half-time: Liverpool 1-0 Villarreal
Villarreal reduced to 10 men as Liverpool complete comeback
Liverpool doubled their lead in the second half when Daniel Sturridge put away the second goal. Firmino managed to control a 50-50 ball outside the box and sent in a through ball to the English striker who stayed onside. As Villarreal defenders raised their arm for a non-existent offside, Sturridge calmly beat Areola to find the inside of the post before the ball found the back of the net.
It went from bad to worse for the Yellow Submarine when they were reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes to go. Victor Ruiz received a second yellow card for a foul on Adam Lallana after he stamped his foot on a follow through of a poor challenge and the referee did not hesitate in sending him off. Marcelino responded by taking off Dos Santos for Daniele Bonera.
The substitution did not work as the three Liverpool forwards combined to score the third goal with 10 minutes to go. Firmino danced his way into the box from the left flank before his cut-back found Sturridge.
The striker’s shot on goal was blocked but it fell kindly to Adam Lallana who was stationed right in front of the goalkeeper but in an onside position. With his back to goal, he simply helped the ball on its way with the tip of his right boot to give the Reds a 3-1 lead on aggregate.
In the end, Liverpool did have a couple of more chances to score but the scoreline remained the same as the referee blew the final whistle after three minutes of added on time. This was the fourth time Villarreal had been eliminated in a European semi-final – a record they will want to improve on in the future.
Sevilla 3-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (5-3 on aggregate)
Sevilla, the defending champions looking to win a third consecutive title had the advantage in this tie after scoring two away goals in the first leg. And it was the Spanish side that took the lead when Kevin Gameiro pounced on a defensive error to score in the ninth minute.
A back pass saw the defender fail to control the ball and Gameiro pounced on the loose ball to make a run into the box and beat Andriy Pyatov to find the bottom corner. It was his 23rd goal of the season and his 20th at home.
However, with a minute to go before half-time, Eduardo da Silva made a run into the box and was found by Marlos with a delightful through ball. The Croatian forward waited for David Soria to rush him before opening up his body and side-footing it past the goalkeeper to net the equaliser.
Los Nervionenses then turned up the heat in the second half with two quick goals to put the tie to bed. The first came in less than two minutes after the restart as Grzegorz Krychowiak put Kevin Gameiro through on goal. The French forward rounded the goalkeeper before slotting it home to give Sevilla a 2-1 lead.
Mariano Ferreira then made it 3-1 with a sidewinder of a shot from outside the box to make it 3-1. The ball seemed to be going off target before it curled inward and beat the diving Pyatov to give Sevilla a 5-3 lead on aggregate.
The final scoreline read 3-1 to Sevilla and a 5-3 aggregate win saw them reach their third final in three years.