Liverpool vs Villarreal LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction after Sadio Mane and deflected Jordan Henderson goals

You could tell it from the two banks of four. You could tell it from Geroninmo Rulli’s panicked punches and shanked goal kicks. You could tell from the way that right from the kick-off, the yellow submarine was submerged. This was the semi-finals of the Champions League – one stop before the ultimate pinnacle of the sport – but even the unlikely semi-finalists themselves expected it to be an outright mismatch.

In one corner, six European Cups, a manager who will be remembered among the greatest of his generation and possibly the most feared forward line in world football. In the other, an organised team that had scalped Juventus and Bayern Munich and therefore could not be underestimated, but one that finished seventh in La Liga last season and remains seventh today.

And then, as if that was not enough, there was Anfield. “It is hell,” Villarreal’s Etienne Capoue said during the build-up to this semi-final, recalling his days in English football. “You have to say it how it is. It’s hell. It’s the worst stadium I’ve been to in England… They want to knock you out. They don’t care what or who is in front of them. They just want to kill everyone and that’s it.”

It was the third Anfield Champions League semi-final of Mohamed Salah’s time at Liverpool. It was also the second. In their own way, the first two had been defined by him. Rewind four years and perhaps the first phase of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool reached its zenith in a blistering burst of five goals in 34 minutes in the last four of the most prestigious competition of all. Salah scored the first two against his old club Roma and assisted the next two.

Fast forward 12 months and he was sat in the crowd, wearing a T-shirt that summed up Liverpool’s ethos. The man who never gets injured was injured but the message on his chest – “never give up” – was taken to heart by his teammates. Salah was the spectator who was upstaged by Divock Origi, the destroyer of Barcelona.

It may now be an exaggeration to brand the Egyptian the scourge of Villarreal. His influence was more indirect. A player going at a goal a game for much of the season saw his relatively barren spell continue. And yet when Liverpool scored twice in three minutes, allowing dreams of a final in Paris to become realistic, Salah had an indirect influence twice.

There were so many passages where this felt much less a Champions League semi-final, and more a routine Premier League win over someone like Watford. That was down to more than the identity of some of Villarreal’s players, such as Etienne Capoue and Pervis Estupinan.

It should be stressed that this is more a reflection of the economic disparity within European football, that is now such a live issue, rather than any disrespect towards Unai Emery’s team. They have done superbly to get this far, and still have some small chance, but it still felt like they came up against the limits of what is possible with this sort of football.

Andy Robertson spoke after the game and praised the atmosphere inside the stadium saying that is raised Liverpool’s levels. He said: “We had a few chances in the first half, trying to break them down. We had a bit of momentum after the first goal and the noise in here was incredible. It took us to the second one. We would have liked one more but a clean sheet and two goals, we can’t argue with that.

“It is the semi-final of the Champions League. If you can’t run around for 90 minutes in this kind of game, when will you. Our intensity has been high last couple of games. We have had a hectic schedule but we are enjoying it. There is still work to do but we are happy.”

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, speaking to BT Sport: “They are a very organised team and we knew they would make it difficult. It was just important that we kept going and believe that we would eventually break them down. We did that with two good goals.

“First one was a bit lucky. Good build up but a bit lucky, in off the defender and keeper I think. But you need a bit of luck when a team plays with a low block. We got that and it lifted the crowd. Majority of the game, the counter-press was really good. It made it difficult for them. But the game is still alive and it will be tough in Villarreal.”

As it stands Liverpool and Manchester City will take leads in the second legs of both Champions League semi-finals. Liverpool lead by two goals over Villarreal and will play next Tuesday with City facing Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday. They lead 4-3 on aggregate after the this leg.

Liverpool took a big step toward the Champions League final as they beat Villarreal 2-0 at Anfield in the semi-final first leg on Wednesday night.

The Reds dominated the first half without taking any of their chances, with the Yellow Submarine packing out the defence and offering next to nothing as an attacking entity. Thiago Alcantara went closest to breaking the deadlock as a 25-yard shot rattled the post, but Jurgen Klopp’s team didn’t have to wait much longer.

Soon after the restart, Jordan Henderson beat his man and sent over a cross with three waiting – but Pervis Estupinan stretched out a boot and diverted the ball over Geronimo Rulli and into the net. Mere moments later the lead was doubled, with Mohamed Salah finding a gap to play in Sadio Mane, who finished on the stretch.

Villarreal didn’t really attempt much of an attack until the final 15 minutes or so, by which time Virgil van Dijk and Luis Diaz had gone close to a third, but the Reds saw the game out with ease.

Jordan Henderson’s deflected cross has gone down as a Pervis Estupinan own goal. Sadio Mane added a second for the Reds to give them a comfortable lead ahead of the second leg.

90+3 mins: A decent night at Anfield for Liverpool. They’ll take a two goal lead into the second leg in Spain next week. Villarreal only managed one shot all night and face an uphill battle in their home leg.

Jurgen Klopp will be a happy man. Liverpool have one foot in the Champions League final.

90 mins: Two minutes of added time to play to play at Anfield. Will we see another goal?