Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool display in Villarreal win beyond expectations

Jurgen Klopp was lost for words to describe Liverpool's performance after they reached the Europa League final with victory over Villarreal.

Trailing 1-0 from the semi-final first leg in Spain, Liverpool were dominant on Thursday night at Anfield, with an early Bruno own goal setting them on their way to a 3-0 win.

Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana scored in the second half as the Reds set up a meeting with Sevilla - who beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate - in the final in Basel on Wednesday, May 18.

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Asked whether the performance had lived up to his expectations, Klopp said: "It was beyond my expectations. As a non-native speaker, I don't have the right words for this performance.

"It was nice to watch, nice to be part of it, the whole performance from the first second, from 6.45pm when we drove through the roads it was nice. The first half hour, what power.

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"We lost a bit of patience and tried things differently, but in the second half, it was back to the plan and still very emotional and very smart. Wonderful goals and well deserved."

Klopp made two changes from the first leg, recalling Sturridge and Emre Can to the starting line-up, and afterwards he praised the contribution of the England striker.

Sevilla are a strong side. We will try our best, try to do everything for this wonderful club.

"It was a great game from Sturridge," he said. "You see when he is fit, he is unbelievable, but even he needs players to play with. I know about his quality, I knew it before, now I know it better."

The final against Sevilla will be Liverpool's first in European competition since they were beaten by AC Milan in the Champions League final in 2007.

"To go to a final, you need a little bit of luck but you need outstanding performances," said Klopp. "We weren't doing that well in the Europa League when I arrived, it was a difficult group. We came through with a nice game in Russia and we felt really comfortable, we liked to go to different countries and adapt to different games.

"The problem was having so many games around them, so we couldn't be really focused. In 2016, the team has shown what they are capable of and what they can be capable of, so that's really good.

"That's more important for me as a manager but when you perform like you did tonight or against Dortmund or United or Augsburg, you want it all. It's a great opportunity and we will take it as that.

"Sevilla are a strong side. We will try our best, try to do everything for this wonderful club."

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