Villarreal face a mammoth task against Liverpool on Tuesday night, but they are armed with hope, and in the hands of the Yellow Submarine, hope is particularly dangerous.
Unai Emery‘s men need to overcome a two-goal deficit against Premier League title hopefuls Liverpool at home on Tuesday night after a defeat at Anfield.
Villarreal managed to survive in the tie despite a poor first half performance, losing 2-0 in Merseyside.
Though, overcoming a two-goal deficit against one of Europe’s very best teams is still going to feel like an impossible task.
For most onlookers, 2-0 is already seen as an impossible task given the gap in quality between the two sides.
And for many, the tie may have been settled in the first leg, but from the perspective of those connected with Villarreal, 2-0 is a climbable mountain.
We can go through the rational and make no mistake, all statistics point to progression for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
But Villarreal very rarely follow scripts.
Against Bayern Munich and Juventus, needing to produce results away from home in the second legs, many ruled them as inevitable exitees.
Even last season, in Europa League semi-final clashes against Arsenal and Manchester United, they were ruled as hopeful underdogs.
And yet here they are – Champions League semi-finalists and Europa League holders.
The 2-0 scoreline may have made things difficult, but for Villarreal, it’s a scoreline that has afforded them hope.
💛 𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗦 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔 𝗟𝗔 𝗔𝗬𝗨𝗗𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘💛
𝑽𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒋𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒔 𝒍𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒍 𝒚 𝒍𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂#UCL pic.twitter.com/7pyrw0QNf7
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) May 2, 2022
Hope is a powerful thing for these fans and for this club, which has fought above its weight over and over again.
Liverpool are overwhelming favourites and a machine capable of killing hope, of producing a clinical second leg performance that prevents any chance of a comeback.
But not only have Klopp’s men shown some complacency in second legs already this season. but hope is all Villarreal need.
Their belief has not wilted in the face of a first leg defeat.
Miracles do indeed happen in the yellow corner of Castellon, and Liverpool should be cautious of what will be a spirited Villarreal side in this second leg, backed by a fortress of home support who – after years of seeing their side battle against the odds – have learned to believe that miracles don’t have to be so rare.