Maybe Liverpool will normalize the process to reach the finals of the European Cup. And if so, many others will be jealous. There are worse habits to have. Certainly the draw, bringing it against Benfica in the last eight and Villarreal in the last four, had a courtesy and maybe that reduced the sense of opportunity. When referring to major European nights at Anfield, even from the time of Klopp’s reign, other rivals – Roma and Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund – will come to mind before Villarreal. Given the importance of Klopp’s Liverpool’s origin story, perhaps the 2016 Europa League semi-final against the Yellow Submarine will be more memorable. It’s partly because now Liverpool can remove the element of drama, in part it was an occasion cut short by the compassionate excitement they sometimes offer. Part of the evolution of this group is that they are no longer so dependent on the wild start. It was one of their characteristics. They can repeat it, and they did it in a series of games against Manchester clubs this month. However, the team that started like Klopp’s Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final this week was Manchester City. The theory of chaos had to come from Klopp’s Liverpool, Pep Guardiola’s control from City. On successive nights, each seemed to be influenced by the other. Against Villarreal, Liverpool showed that they have become better in a game of patience. “We kept them silent,” said Klopp, the heavy metal footballer who embraced the silence. Allison had to take the ball out of his net five times in a semi-final here for Roma. In the colors of Liverpool, he had no repulse against Villarreal. And after they pacified them, then they hit. Instead of chasing opponents, they wear them out. “It is intense for us to play the way we play, but it is intense for the opponent to defend us,” Klopp explained. “Maturity is part of the quality, to be honest. “We must be like that.” Increasingly, Liverpool do not panic when the weight of expectation is on them and they are faced with a provocative defense. There is an art to turning a half time score with 0-0 into a victory. If scoring obviously – and only three opponents have kept a clean sheet against Liverpool this season – also means finding a significant success against teams that were initially successful in disappointing them. Liverpool has done it twice a week, against Everton and Villarreal. They did it twice a week in March, against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. They did it against Inter at the San Siro in February. The team that used to play the fast game is now playing the big game. And, 55 games in a marathon season, Liverpool seem to be expanding a quadruple quest for more than anyone else. The fact is that he has lost three times in 55 games. Include the penalty shootout and they have won 43. Maybe that’s another reason why the celebrations were underrated. Victory, whoever the opponent is, whoever the competition is, is very normal.
