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Liverpool seized the advantage in their Champions League semifinal clash against Villarreal by registering a comfortable 2-0 victory at Anfield in a midweek duel that saw their opponents barely able to lay a glove on them.
With a quadruple very much still on the cards, the Reds dominated proceedings, though it took 53 minutes and a hint of fortune for them to finally break through Unai Emery’s stubborn Yellow blockade.
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Indeed, the opening goal came via an own goal from defender Pervis Estupinan, who inadvertently deflected a Jordan Henderson cross over his goalkeeper to put the home side ahead.
Two minutes.
⏰⚽️5⃣3⃣ Estupiñán own goal
⏰⚽️5⃣5⃣ Mané #UCL pic.twitter.com/hBgzFkHyjN— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 27, 2022
With Villarreal’s guard down, Liverpool then took just 133 seconds to add their second goal of the evening when Mohamed Salah wriggled into a pocket of space on the edge of the box and slid a pass into the path of Sadio Mane, who duly nipped in behind the back line to prod home from close range.
In doing so, Mane took his tally in Champions League knockout games to 14, thereby drawing level with former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba as the joint-highest-scoring African player in the latter stages of the competition.
🌍 Top African scorers in the knockout stages (UCL era only):
⚽️1⃣4⃣ Didier Drogba 🇨🇮
⚽️1⃣4⃣ Sadio Mané 🇸🇳
⚽️1⃣1⃣ Mohamed Salah 🇪🇬
⚽️1⃣0⃣ Samuel Eto’o 🇨🇲#UCL pic.twitter.com/lZR3cabhjd— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 27, 2022
Another standout performer for Liverpool on the night was Thiago Alcantara, who once again made it his business to conduct traffic from the centre of midfield.
The industrious Spain international ended the game with an incredible pass completion rate of 96.1% from 103 passes…
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Source : espn
