Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren is hopeful his side do not “repeat” their performance against Borussia Dortmund last month by starting poorly against Villarreal on Thursday night.
The Reds emerged victorious in one of their greatest ever European nights last month against Thomas Tuchel’s side, after initially playing out a closely-fought 1-1 encounter during the first leg in Germany.
Dortmund raced into a two-goal lead in the first half of the return fixture at Anfield after goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, before Divock Origi pulled one back during the quarter-final tie.
However, Marco Reus restored the three-goal advantage on aggregate in the second half and left Liverpool with a mountain to climb to reach the Europa League semi-final.
But, as per usual at Anfield, the Reds delivered on the big stage following goals from Philippe Coutinho, Mamadou Sakho and a stoppage-time header from Lovren.
The Reds emerged victorious in one of their greatest ever European nights last month against Thomas Tuchel’s side, after initially playing out a closely-fought 1-1 encounter during the first leg in Germany.
Dortmund raced into a two-goal lead in the first half of the return fixture at Anfield after goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, before Divock Origi pulled one back during the quarter-final tie.
However, Marco Reus restored the three-goal advantage on aggregate in the second half and left Liverpool with a mountain to climb to reach the Europa League semi-final.
But, as per usual at Anfield, the Reds delivered on the big stage following goals from Philippe Coutinho, Mamadou Sakho and a stoppage-time header from Lovren.
Dejan Lovren has averaged eight defensive actions per Europa League match this season.
Liverpool now head into Thursday
knowing they must score to cancel out the 1-0 deficit they suffered
against Villarreal last week, but Lovren has warned his teammates they
must remain “patient”.
Player ratings: Liverpool 4-3 Borussia Dortmund
“We need to be clever and patient,” Lovren said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“I believe in our team we have shown many times we can play when 1-0 or 2-0 down. I believe we can get to the final.
“I hope we will not start like we did against Dortmund. We did not expect to start 2-0 down and then 3-1.
“I would say it was an historic [moment] for us, me and
the fans, we showed our character and showed we will never stop to
believe until the last minute.
“We do not repeat this game. We want to repeat it smoothly to win tomorrow. I think I will remember that for my lifetime.”
Player ratings: Liverpool 4-3 Borussia Dortmund
A place in the Europa League final
awaits the Reds in Basel, with either Sevilla or Shakhtar Donetsk the
team they will face if they overcome Villarreal.
Marcelino’s side have proven they are no walkovers this term though, and beat Valencia quite comfortably over the weekend with virtually their entire starting XI rested.
In the first leg, Lovren won only 1/4 tackles, though did generally look composed over the 90 minutes, as Liverpool held on until stoppage-time before conceding.
CREDIT TO:http://www.squawka.com/news/dejan-lovren-liverpool-do-not-want-a-repeat-of-borussia-dortmund-match/661587
Marcelino’s side have proven they are no walkovers this term though, and beat Valencia quite comfortably over the weekend with virtually their entire starting XI rested.
In the first leg, Lovren won only 1/4 tackles, though did generally look composed over the 90 minutes, as Liverpool held on until stoppage-time before conceding.
CREDIT TO:http://www.squawka.com/news/dejan-lovren-liverpool-do-not-want-a-repeat-of-borussia-dortmund-match/661587
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