Villareal are demanding respect from 'humble' Liverpool

'Liverpool will be a bit more humble than Bayern Munich were,’ said Villarreal defender Pau Torres ahead of this week’s Champions League semi-final. ‘They will know what we are all about.’

Torres was referring to the way the German team underestimated the smallest club left in the competition. But Liverpool will be more than aware of their opponents on Tuesday night, and not just for their exploits against the Bundesliga champions.

Almost half the Villarreal squad have played in England, it’s part of their off-the-wall charm that none did well enough to stay, and yet here they are 180 minutes from the Paris final, under the guiding hand of Unai Emery, who also knows what it feels like to not be given time in the Premier League.

Torres, who was speaking last week at the renaming of Villarreal’s sports centre in his honour, is one of the odd men out. He could have joined Tottenham last summer but chose to stay and play for his hometown club in Europe. Liverpool also looked at signing him last season.

In the rest of the squad there are 10 Villarreal players who have been on the books of English clubs. Juan Foyth moved to Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino in 2017. He played less and less under Jose Mourinho and moved to Villarreal in 2020. He is now first-choice right-back for his club and a regular for Argentina.

The other Villarreal full-back when they knocked out Bayern was Pervis Estupin an, signed from Watford at the start of last season. The Ecuador defender joined Watford in 2016 from LDU Quito but never made a competitive first-team appearance. He was signed to make money and after four loan moves he brought in £15m when Villarreal signed him in 2020.

The entire midfield quartet that held out at the Allianz Arena