Liverpool handed Villarreal test, Shakhtar face Sevilla

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will face Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals, while champions Sevilla were pitted against Shakhtar Donetsk in Friday’s draw in Nyon.

A stunning late fightback saw the Reds progress to the final four at the expense of Klopp’s old club Borussia Dortmund and they must now find a way past La Liga opposition to reach the May 18 final at Basel’s St Jakob-Park.

The first legs – which see Shakhtar and Villarreal as the home sides – will take place on April 28, with the return matches a week later.

Liverpool scored four second-half goals to oust Dortmund at Anfield on Thursday, with Dejan Lovren’s stoppage-time header sealing one of the most remarkable victories in the club’s history.

The Merseyside outfit have won the competition three times, most recently in 2001, while Villarreal have twice lost at the last-four stage and are without a win in their last 10 meetings with English clubs.

10 – Villarreal are winless in their last 10 games against English opposition (D6 L4). Underwater.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 15, 2016

Fellow Spanish side Sevilla racked up a record fourth crown last season and have triumphed in each of the last two campaigns.

Shakhtar will pose a stern test to Unai Emery’s men, who, like Liverpool, have little chance of reaching next season’s Champions League via the domestic route.

While Sevilla sit seventh in La Liga, Shakhtar are second in the Ukrainian Premier League and have lost only two top-flight games this season.