Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp shared a conversation he had with his assistant Pete Krawietz at half-time in the game against Villarreal last night.
The Reds went to Spain with a 2-0 lead from the first leg. Liverpool were the absolute favourites to go through and they did just that. However, it was not that straightforward at all.
Villarreal scored twice in the first half to level the aggregate scores. Liverpool went in at the break two goals down and were completely rattled by the hosts, and Klopp had to change something.
The German apparently asked Krawietz to find one positive from the opening 45 minutes for him to use in his half-time team talk to lift his players up. The Liverpool assistant coach’s reply was a blunt one and he wasn’t wrong at all.
Jurgen Klopp shares what his assistant told him after Liverpool went 2-0 down vs Villarreal
Klopp faced the media after his side qualified for the final of the Champions League last night.
He said, as per Liverpool’s official website: “Usually, in a situation like this, when we don’t find a way into the game, we try to find a situation which we can show the boys at half-time that explains it a little bit, what we have to do.
“So, when Pete [Krawietz] went in, I told him: ‘Find just one situation where we did it how we wanted to do it in the first place.’
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“And, when I came in, Pete just said: ‘Nah, didn’t find any.’ But it was clear.”
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Krawietz was spot on, there really wasn’t a positive to take for Liverpool from that first half.
Villarreal started the game in fantastic style and they were all over Klopp’s side. Liverpool just couldn’t play their game before the break last night, which rarely ever happens.
On another day, Unai Emery’s side could’ve easily scored three or even four goals in the first half. Thankfully for Reds fans, it stayed at 2-0 at half-time and whatever Klopp said at the break worked as Liverpool looked a lot better once they came out.
The German and his lads now have to wait to see who Liverpool will face in the Champions League final in Paris at the end of this month – Manchester City or Real Madrid.
