Liverpool’s upcoming Champions League semi-final with Villarreal will not be the first time the two clubs have met in the latter stages of European competition.
The two faced off in the sem-finals of the 2015-16 Europa League, with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool coming out on top in a 3-1 aggregate win.
A 3-0 victory at Anfield secured the Reds’ passage through to the final – where they would lose to Unai Emery’s Sevilla – and we’ve taken a look at where the players who featured in that game are now, almost six years on.
GK: Simon Mignolet
The Belgian goalkeeper was very much the No.1 at Liverpool when Klopp arrived.
Mignolet, though occasionally error-prone, was generally a steady pair of hands and helped his side past Villarreal without conceding a goal in the crucial second leg.
The arrival of Loris Karius saw Mignolet take a back seat, before the signing of Alisson in 2018 left him surplus to requirements entirely.
The 34-year-old departed for Club Brugge and is still playing for the Belgian outfit in the 2021-22 season.
RB: Nathaniel Clyne
A player who appeared to have a bright future at Liverpool under Klopp, Clyne’s performance levels gradually dropped off after repeated injuries. He was surpassed by academy product Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Clyne initially left for Bournemouth on loan in 2019, before joining Crystal Palace early in the 2020-21 season.
The England international has made 11 Premier League appearances for the Eagles this term.
CB: Dejan Lovren
Lovren was a regular in defence for Liverpool in Klopp’s early years, but the arrivals of the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip saw him eventually drift into the periphery.
In the summer of 2020, the Croatian left for Zenit, winning the Russian Premier League title in his first season with the club.
CB: Kolo Toure
The man whose name inspired an iconic chant, Toure was something of a cult hero at Liverpool.
He was in the latter stages of his career during his time at Anfield, but…