Memories were the theme of the day as Jurgen Klopp and Jordan Henderson faced the cameras ahead of another defining night.
With Unai Emery bringing Villarreal to town for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, it was understandable that talk returned to Basle in 2016 when Emery was in charge of Sevilla and he masterminded a 3-1 defeat of Liverpool in the Europa League final.
Klopp was initially taken aback by the subject — ‘Not a game I have thought about for a very long time,’ he said — but Henderson, Liverpool’s captain, had no issue revisiting a night that ranks as one of the most disappointing and frustrating of his career.
Henderson was an unused substitute as Sevilla put a stranglehold on the contest and took the game away from Liverpool. Back in the Novotel City Hotel where they were staying, his mood was volcanic until he saw Klopp take to the dancefloor, grab a microphone and give an impromptu speech.
‘This feels s*** now,’ Klopp said. ‘But, in the future, it will be better. We are Liverpool.’
Reflecting on it, Henderson said: ‘He was disappointed, but I felt he knew it was the start. That confidence transmitted to the players, we used it as motivation to try to get better.
'That day always sticks out for us, for sure, and it has been pretty eventful since then! Hopefully that can carry on.’
This will be Liverpool’s fourth European semi-final in six years under Klopp, on a par with Bob Paisley and Rafa Benitez, who had similar runs, from 1976 to 1981 and 2005 to 2010 respectively.
Henderson is right to say it has been eventful, never more so than when they toppled Barcelona at this stage in 2019.
That 4-0 win — and overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit — is widely regarded as Anfield’s greatest European night. It was when that game was mentioned that Klopp and Henderson’s tones changed.
Villarreal, currently seventh in La Liga, are not the Barcelona of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez but the idea they will be pushovers was greeted with incredulity by the manager and his skipper, who do not see Liverpool as the odds-on favourites to reach the final in Paris as bookmakers have priced them.
If they are to get to Paris, Klopp and Henderson were in unison that a performance on a par with the one they conjured against Barcelona — full of intensity, ruthlessness and relentless desire — will be required against a cussed team who Klopp says ‘are made for this competition’.
‘We need the atmosphere, we need the performance,’ he continued. ‘But it is a completely different game, Barcelona set-up is completely different. We need a big game. We need to be on top of our game, I need to be on top of my game. That’s completely fine.
‘It’s the semi-final of the Champions League. If it was easy, something would be completely wrong. I can’t wait, even in this schedule with this kind of week — City, United, Everton — if you need a game to be 100 per cent in then yeah… bring on Villarreal in the semi-final of the Champions League.’
Henderson added: ‘We invested everything into the semi-final against Barcelona, both away and home and we got our rewards in the end but it wasn’t easy. It was tough. That applies and in the away leg for sure.
‘They are a very difficult team; a very good team, with a lot of very good players. We need to be at our very, very best and only that gives us a chance of winning. We do our job on the pitch and then, hopefully, that is enough.’
Klopp tends to pick which players should speak before European games and it was little surprise that he selected Henderson for duty on Tuesday, as in many ways he is the German’s mirror in terms of looking at the landscape.
Liverpool might be pursuing another three trophies, to go with the Carabao Cup that is already safely under wraps, but Henderson hasn’t given a second’s thought to the prospect of winning another one and won’t entertain conversations about the Quadruple.
Nothing is being taken for granted, not least as they are at the stage where one slip, one bad decision, and talk of making history will be consigned to history. Villarreal have the potential to cause huge problems.
‘I know how quickly football can change,’ said Henderson. ‘People talk about all the things we can win but a couple of bad games and it can all be over. It’s about keeping focus, the next game, the next challenge, giving absolutely everything. Then we’ll see where we are at the end of the season.’
There was a laugh when Henderson said some of his answers might sound boring but it is exactly the kind of message Klopp wanted.
If some see this game as being just another fixture in a packed schedule, he was quick to underline the importance and context.
‘It is absolutely special to be part of the semi-final, it’s crazy,’ he said. ‘It is a massive game.
'So many coaches, so many players out there work their socks off their whole life and have no chance to be even close to a semi-final so we have to cherish it, appreciate and enjoy it as well. European nights at Anfield are always special, and hopefully that is the case again. But we need to perform at the levels we are capable of.
‘It’s a two-way thing. The crowd, I’m sure, will be there. We need to make sure we are too.’