"Had to repeat and repeat" - Unai Emery suggests Villarreal were unable to handle one Liverpool star
Villarreal boss Unai Emery has admitted that his side, particularly right-back Juan Foyth, struggled to cope with Liverpool forward Luis Diaz.
The Yellow Submarine hosted the Reds in the the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal last night (May 3). Emery's side erased Liverpool's 2-0 first-leg lead by scoring twice without response in the first half at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
Villarreal dominated the visitors, managing five shots and two on target while limiting Liverpool to two shots and none on target.
In a bid to shake things up, Jurgen Klopp threw on January arrival Diaz at the start of the second half and the move paid rich dividends.
After Fabinho put the Reds ahead in the tie, the Colombian headed home from Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross in the 67th minute to make it 4-2 on aggregate.
Speaking after the game, Emery acknowledged that the visitors' first goal impacted them mentally. He said (as quoted by HITC):
"We lost strength. Their goal (Fabinho halved Villarreal's lead just after the hour) affected us mentally. We didn't have the strength to respond."
62' - Salah picks out the run of Fabinho, who sees his driven low shot go under Rulli at the near post. Get in!
[2-1]
#UCL | #VILLIV twitter.com/LFC/status/152…
The Spaniard went on to add that Foyth, who began the game at right-back, started well against Diaz but couldn't keep up with him.
"(Juan) Foyth stopped Luis Diaz well on the first move, but he had to repeat and repeat."
Emery concluded by stating that his side needed more than just one good half throughout the 180 minutes:
"There are four periods of 45 minutes and (playing well in) one is not enough. We wanted more. I had hoped to take another step further, but it couldn't be."
Sadio Mane scored the Reds' third goal on the night in the 74th minute to seal a 5-2 aggregate success and a place in the Champions League final.
Luis Diaz continues to impress for Liverpool
Diaz has been a breath of fresh air in an already stacked Liverpool roster. The Colombian proved his mettle once again in the second-leg clash against Villarreal.
He completed four dribbles, hit the woodwork once, scored from his only shot on target and was named UEFA's Player of the Match to boot.
Since arriving from Porto in January, Diaz has already racked up 21 appearances across all competitions for the Reds.
He has scored five goals and laid out three assists in those games while adding unpredictability, pace and incredible technique to their frontline.
A game-changing impact ✨
Take a bow, @LuisFDiaz19 👏 https://t.co/uRS7Qm0NJU
Having lifted his first title with the club as well, Diaz will be keen to add three more with Liverpool targeting an unprecedented quadruple.