world class
Jurgen Klopp’s analysis of Unai Emery before Liverpool vs Villarreal Champions League semi-final should get Aston Villa fans excited about new manager
Jurgen Klopp’s opinion of Unai Emery should get Aston Villa fans excited about what is to come under the Spaniard.
Former Arsenal boss Emery accepted the job at Villa Park after Steven Gerrard was sacked.
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The 50-year-old decided to leave LaLiga side Villarreal for a return to the Premier League.
He brings a huge amount of experience with him, having won the Europa League four times. Three were with Sevilla and another with Villarreal, where he beat Manchester United in the 2020/21 final.
Klopp has faced Emery seven times during his managerial career and only lost on one occasion.
That one defeat came in the 2016 Europa League final when Sevilla beat Liverpool 3-1 as the Spanish side came back from a goal down.
They went head-to-head once again last season when Villarreal surprisingly made the semi-finals of the Champions League.
They made things hard for Liverpool, with the tie 2-2 going into the final 45 minutes of action only for Klopp’s side to score three times.
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Emery has proved himself to be a master tactician in big games and Klopp was full of praise for him prior to their meeting in the Champions League.
“Unai is a detail-obsessed manager who prepares for all different situations in the game and that’s what his team is executing,” the Liverpool boss said in April.
“It’s really, really good, different ways to build-up, different ways to press, different ways to react on results.
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“He is a world class coach is doing an incredible job there.
“Our job is to make life difficult as possible for them and that is what we will try and do over the two legs.”
Klopp's expectation of a difficult test was proved right as at one stage it looked as though they might go out to the LaLiga side.
He won't have too long to wait before facing up against Emery again, with Aston Villa hosting Liverpool on Boxing Day.
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