It is an evening that calls for European magic under the Anfield floodlights, but as the Yellow Submarine docks on Merseyside, there is a strange sense of inevitability in the air mixed with the distinct possibility of an unexpected twist.
Liverpool return to UEFA Champions League action on Tuesday night as overwhelming favourites against Villarreal, but for every Reds supporter who has walked up Walton Breck Road on European nights, we know better than to take anything for granted. Yet, if history is anything to go by, the visitors have a monumental mountain to climb.
In just his third Champions League game, USMNT defender Alex Freeman has the chance to make history with Villarreal when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday.
Liverpool will be huge favourites to clinch a third successive victory in the competition, especially considering their opponents’ track record against Premier League teams over the years.
The English curse: Villarreal’s long wait
For all of Villarreal’s modern pedigree as European disruptors, their record against the English elite in Europe’s premier competition makes for grim reading.
Since making their Champions League debut in 2005-06, Villarreal have never beaten an English club, losing 10 and drawing six of their 16 previous games against English opposition in the competition.
Villarreal vs the Premier League in the Champions League
The statistic only counts matches in the Champions League group stage or league phase and beyond. Ironically, the Spanish side defeated Everton both home and away in qualifying in August 2005 to reach the group stage for the first time in their history a detail every Liverpool fan on Merseyside still remembers with a quiet smirk.
In the competition proper, “The Yellow Submarine” have faced Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur over the past two decades and have failed to beat any of them:
- Manchester United: 7 games, D5 L2
- Arsenal: 4 games, D1 L3
- Manchester City: 3 games, L3
- Liverpool: 2 games, L2
- Tottenham Hotspur: 1 game, L1
The Anfield fortress
To make matters more complicated for the visitors, Liverpool have won 15 of their last 16 home games in the Champions League group stage or league phase, which may not give Freeman and his teammates a whole lot of confidence as they head to Merseyside.
For us in the Kop, Anfield in midweek remains the ultimate crucible. We’ve seen world-class sides crumble under the noise and intensity, and Villarreal’s record here offers little comfort for their travelling support.
But, as the old saying goes, there’s a first time for everything. Stranger things have most definitely happened in soccer. If Liverpool remain sharp and focused, it should be another memorable night under the lights but in European football, you never lower your guard.
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