Liverpool were superior throughout the 90 minutes of the game against Villarreal and grabbed a comfortable 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night at Anfield.
The Reds were dominant in a first half where they would have scored at least a couple of goals had they not lacked a finishing touch.
Geronimo Rulli produced a fine save to deny Luis Diaz, with Mane and Mohamed Salah sending the ball just wide before Thiago Alcantara unleashed a thunderous strike to hit the woodwork.
Fabinho had a goal ruled out for offside just after the break, but Pervis Estupinan netted an own goal to put Liverpool ahead in the 53th minute.
It took the Reds just a couple of minutes to double their lead through Mane, who capitalised on a great Mohamed Salah pass to beat Rulli.
Andrew Robertson scored a third, but his goal was overruled for offside. Neither Diaz nor Salah managed to hit the target in the later stages of the second half, while Unai Emery’s side struggled to create in the final third.
Villarreal didn’t create any danger in front of Alisson’s goal, producing just a single shot throughout the game.
The return leg of the semi-final tie between the two sides will take place at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Tuesday, May 3.
