Liverpool expose limitations of Emery's Villarreal

LIVERPOOL, England : There is no dispute that Villarreal deserve their place in the semi-final of the Champions League but Wednesday's 2-0 defeat at Anfield against Liverpool exposed their limitations and limited options when faced with key injuries.

Spanish coach Unai Emery has rightly won plaudits for the way he has turned a collection of relatively modest and low-cost players into a last-four team in Europe's top club competition.

By knocking out Juventus and Bayern Munich in the previous rounds, Emery showed that his side's smart defending and effective counter-attacking could cause problems for clubs with far more illustrious histories.

The Villarreal coach was described by Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp before this tie as the 'King of the Cups' and he does indeed have a remarkable record in knockout competition.

Emery won the Europa League three times with Sevilla and triumphed in the same competition with Villarreal last season, beating Manchester United in the final. He won four domestic cups with Paris St Germain.

While the Spaniard’s time in charge at Arsenal was a disappointment, he still managed to take the London club to the Europa League final in 2019.

Plenty of teams in Spain and Europe can attest to how frustrating it can be to play against a defence so expertly marshalled by Pau Torres with a deep three-man midfield providing a line of protection to the back four.

For the opening 45 minutes at Anfield, there were indications that the approach might work but what was missing was the counter-attacking threat that is such a vital part of the gameplan.

Without key striker Gerard Moreno to partner him, Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma was less of a danger than he has shown with his six goals in the competition this