UCL SEMIS: Liverpool seal first leg victory over Villarreal

Liverpool looks on course for a Champions League final, after securing a hard-earned but vital 2-0 win over Villarreal in the first leg of their semi-final encounter at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s Red, who are chasing a quadruple this season had to wait till the second half to break through Unai Emery’s resilient Yellow Submarines, after goalless first half.

A fifty-third-minute own goal by Pervis Estupinan gave the home side the breakthrough they’d been searching for, before Sadio Mane made it two, two minutes later.

Liverpool will be looking to build on this result when they travel to Spain for the return leg next Tuesday, and it would be wrong to count Villarreal out, because this is the Champions League and in football, “It isn’t over until it is over”.