Five talking points from Jurgen Klopp's Villarreal press conference

Jurgen Klopp spoke to the media ahead of the Champions League semi-final against Villarreal and here are the main talking points from the interview.

Klopp is not underestimating Villarreal ahead of tomorrow's semi-final. Since we drew the Spanish side, the Liverpool manager has been full of praise for their accomplishments this season.

This press conference was no different either. Klopp talked about how even though they're favourites, his Liverpool side will fully prepare for the game at hand.

The German also talked about the previous meeting against the clubs in the Europa League during his first season at the club.

Here are the full quotes by Jurgen ahead of the Champions League semi-final tomorrow.

Liverpool vs Villarreal in 2016

During Klopp's first season with Liverpool, the Reds played Villarreal in the semi-final of the Europa League.

The German's side ended up beating the Yellow Submarine 3-1 on aggregate but they subsequently lost the final against Unai Emery's Sevilla side.

Speaking on the Europa League campaign in 2016, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, Klopp said that he hasn't thought about it for a while.

"I haven't thought that far back for a while! It was important - I said it that night - we would come back - I knew we had a good chance to come back stronger. That night was a tough night to take," said Klopp.

"It was game number 64 for us, it was an incredibly tough season. You can't really compare football games from six years ago - I would have loved to lift the trophy that night, but you learn from these things and that is what we do."

Breaking down teams

Klopp was also asked about breaking down opposition defences, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, something that his side have struggled with in the past.

The German mentioned that 20 players in his squad have scored and that more people are finding the net this season than in previous campaigns.

"20 players in my squad have scored a goal this season? Wow. It is a wonderful statistic. A block on the line is like scoring for me. Has Ali scored yet!? He's made some saves that are like scoring," said Klopp.

"Was Sunday Robbo's first goal of the season? His second? He celebrated it like it was his first! Good numbers Robbo! He found a way."

The semi-final vs Barcelona

While speaking about the importance of tomorrow's game, Klopp compared Wednesday's semi-final with the tie against Barcelona in 2019.

The German said, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, that the team need a similar atmosphere and performance to qualify for another final.

"We need a similar atmosphere and a big performance," said Klopp. "I need to be on top of my game, so do the boys, that is fine. If a semi-final in this competition would be easy, something would be really wrong. I can't wait for it, to be honest."

Klopp on Villarreal

Klopp also talked about Villarreal's season, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, and how despite sitting 7th in La Liga, they've had some really good games recently.

"They are 7th in the league, but they have had a really good run of results. They beat Bayern - they beat Valencia - Spain is a very competitive league as well. Unai shows he has a plan for each result, whether 1-0 up or 1-0 down," said Klopp.

"They always have a plan, if they are not winning, they are close to winning and that is really impressive."

Winning every game

Finally, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, Klopp spoke about how they need to win every remaining game and that it won't be easy as everyone will be fighting against them.

"Since I've been here it was like this, but we just didn't win often enough. We are Liverpool - we have to fight like we've not won for the last 12 years. That has always been the situation here - it hasn't changed," said Klopp.

"Everyone fights against you. That's the situation, it hasn't changed. Can you remember a game when nobody cared? It's like this. It always has been."