"Nothing to lose" - Villarreal defender on being underdogs against Liverpool

Villarreal defender Pau Torres has admitted that Liverpool are favourites to progress to the Champions League final.

Speaking to Marca, as cited by SportWitness, Torres said that Villarreal are underdogs against Liverpool but the same went for their impressive victories over Juventus and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

“They are the clear favourites right now; they are in great form,” said Torres.

“They take advantage of any slip-up at the slightest opportunity. We have to know who we’re up against, and it’s okay to recognize that they are favourites.

“But so were Juve and Bayern. We are here to prepare for it, work on it and continue to cause surprises. In the end, we have nothing to lose; on the contrary.

“We are very hungry to do great things. We’ll be less of a surprise because we’ve just eliminated Juve and Bayern, so Liverpool will be a little more humble than Bayern were and will prepare thoroughly knowing what we’re capable of.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

Unai Emery has done an amazing job with Villarreal. Last season, he helped guide the Spanish side to their first major trophy after defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final.

This season he has performed an even bigger miracle by getting the Yellow Submarine to the Champions League semi-finals.

After coming second in the group, they drew Italian giants Juventus in the Round of 16. Emery's side were expected to be dispatched pretty easily but that did not go to plan and they ended up eliminating the Italian side.

Then, Villarreal pulled German champions Bayern Munich. Most people accepted that this was the end of their UCL run. However, Emery and his players were not among them.

They beat the German giants 1-0 in the first leg and then in the second leg at the Allianz Arena, thanks to a late Samuel Chukwueze strike, they progressed to the semi-finals against Liverpool.

It will no doubt be a tough game for Emery's side but it could be one step too far against one of the best teams in world football.