A very late Adrian Lopez goal has given Villarreal the advantage heading into the Europa League semi-final second leg as they ran out 1-0 winners over Liverpool this evening.
In a relatively nip and tuck game in which both sides had chances to score, it was the Spaniards who kept the coolest heads to secure the victory.
Joe Allen should have given Liverpool the lead in the opening 10 minutes when his shot was aimed directly at Sergio Asenjo.
Jurgen Klopp's side were dangerous throughout the first half but the opening period fizzled out without many clear cut chances for either side. Roberto Soldado had a good opportunity to put the home side into the lead but his effort was scuffed into the ground.
The second half delivered more of the same in truth, both sides committing men forward and getting balls into the box but deliveries were poor, in particular from Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner.
Villarreal should have been 1-0 up with just minutes to go, but Simon Mignolet produced a stunning save to deny Cedric Bakambu one-on-one.
Alberto Moreno went up the other end directly after but his shot was skied over the bar.
But the goal came right at the death as Denis Suarez took a sublime touch to take the ball in behind the Liverpool defence to square it to Adrian and he finished with ease.
Jurgen Klopp will be frustrated with his side's performances, but knows he can stir a big performance when he takes his side back to Anfield next week.
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