Klopp warns of the bite of “yellow submarines” .. and praises Mane

Liverpool dominated from the start at Anfield, and scored two quick goals in the second half, to approach the final for the third time in 5 seasons.

But Klopp, who won all four of his Champions League semi-final matches as coach with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, scoring 15 goals and conceding only three times, stressed that the task was not yet over.

“The first half (of the match) is over,” Klopp said, “no more, no less. We still have a full job to do, and we haven’t guaranteed anything yet.”

He continued, “The best description is that we are playing a game and the first half ended with a 2-0 lead. You have to be fully alert in the second half and you have to be in the right condition 100 percent.”

He added: “It could be that they (Villarreal) perform in the second leg as we did in the first leg, and if he does that, our advantage will disappear. We will travel for the return match and the atmosphere will be tough, obviously different from tonight. The players are fighting for their lives, for their coach.

Sadio Mane, who scored the second goal after 133 seconds of Liverpool’s own goal at the beginning of the second half, continued his record, scoring 6 goals in the last 7 matches he played in all competitions.

Mane’s goal was his 14th in the Champions League knockout stages, leveling with Didier Drogba at the top of that list of African players.

Since the 2017-2018 season, only Karim Benzema (16 goals) has surpassed Mane in scoring in the knockout stages.

Klopp added: “He’s been having a great season and he’s a great player. He’s an outstanding player and he did well tonight.”

He explained, “Historically, we have to win a title like the Champions League to win (Mane) the Ballon d’Or (for the best player in the world). I think most of the time it is like this. If you are not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.”

“Sadio wants to contribute and help the team, and that’s what I love the most,” he added.