Europa League exclusive: Liverpool must guard against complacency, warns Kop legend McManaman

Former Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman has warned that complacency could be the main stumbling block for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they prepare to take on Villarreal in the Europa League semi-final tonight.

Liverpool are favourites to progress against Marcelino’s La Liga side after a dramatic win against Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals saw Jurgen Klopp’s side promoted as potential winners of the Europa League.

Success in the final to be played in Switzerland next month would guarantee Liverpool a place in next season’s Champions League, with McManaman suggesting they need to guard against thoughts of glory as they look to overcome the side currently sitting fourth in the Spanish league when they take them on at their El Madrigal home.

“It’s easy to think we have beaten Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund to get to this stage of the competition so Villarreal should be easy, but it doesn’t work like that,” BT Sport pundit McManaman told Yahoo Sport in an exclusive interview.

“I took a flight over on the Liverpool team plane on Wednesday as it was tough to get out of Liverpool due to the amount of travelling fans coming over, with the excitement among the fans great to see. There is a real buzz about the club at the moment and they all believe this season can end with a trophy, but there is a long way to go before that happens.

“Villarreal have a smaller stadium than United and Dortmund, but it will be equally intimidating for the first leg on Thursday night and they have shown that they have performed at their best when they have been in the Europa League.

“They have beaten Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid this season and drew with Barcelona, so Villarreal can be a threat against the big teams and Liverpool have to give them full respect.

“Villarreal are dangerous against teams that come onto them as they are a good attacking side, so Liverpool need to do a disciplined job in the first leg and make sure they are in a strong position when they head to Anfield for the second leg.”

[LIVERPOOL FAN VIEW - THREE KEY BATTLES AGAINST VILLARREAL]

McManaman went on to reflect on Liverpool’s remarkable 5-4 aggregate win against Dortmund in previous round of the Europa League, as they came back from a seemingly impossible position in the second leg at Anfield to score two late goals and secure their place in the last four of the competition.

“It was one of those Anfield nights you will never forget and somehow that stadium is different to anywhere else on those sort of occasions,” stated McManaman.

“I was sitting with Owen Hargreaves (ex-Bayern Munich and Manchester United) for that match and even though he has no connection with Liverpool, he commented that he had never experienced anything like it in his life. Anfield can be a crazy place, surreal. You sense something magical is going to happen and not for the first time, it did happen against Dortmund.

“In my time with Liverpool, we played a famous Premier League game against Newcastle that is still talked about to this day and it was comparable to the Dortmund game. We won that match 4-3 back in 1996 and it was a crazy match that could have finished 8-8, but little things go Liverpool’s way at Anfield and they seem to find a way to win.

“Villarreal will experience that atmosphere for the second leg and if Liverpool can get themselves into a decent place in the tie by coming away from Spain with a positive result, then they have a good chance to get through to the final.”

McManaman believes victory in the Europa League would give Reds boss Klopp the perfect platform to launch his summer of spending, with a place in next season’s Champions League offering a huge boost to their transfer activity.

“It did not look like Liverpool would be playing in the Champions League next season, but they are a couple of decent results away from achieving that goal now,” he adds.

“There is already real excitement around Liverpool for what lies ahead next season because we can see that Klopp’s ideas are coming into place now, but being in the Champions League could move everything forward when you consider the calibre of the players they could attract this summer.”

Follow Kevin Palmer on Twitter @kpsundayworld

Watch Villarreal v Liverpool in the UEFA Europa League semi-final exclusively live on BT Sport Europe from 7:15pm GMT on Thursday.