The night Klopp’s belief and Kop’s passion combined to
YESTERDAY marked a year since Anfield witnessed its greatest night as Liverpool flipped the finger to a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona to reach a second consecutive Champions League final.
Overturning such a scoreline during that stage of the competition against esteemed opposition was enough to constitute a football fairytale, but it was only half the story.
Liverpool had entered the lastfour tie with Ernesto Valverde’s charges enveloped in pressure due to a relentless, no-marginfor-error title race with Manchester City. There was also a deep desperation to reach the European showpiece at the Wanda
Metropolitano given their 2018 heartbreak against Real Madrid in Kiev. The objective to crown a remarkable campaign with silverware was mentally exacting and began to physically take its toll with the finish line in sight.
Roberto Firmino suffered a torn groin muscle ahead of the first leg at Camp Nou on May 1, with Jurgen Klopp selecting Gini Wijnaldum as a false nine.
If kicking off without the Brazilian was not arduous enough, they lost Naby Keita on 24 minutes due to an adductor issue.
Still, the Merseysiders were dominant on Barca’s turf without putting the ball in the back of the net and thwarting Lionel Messi from doing the same. Two goals from the Argentine (right) in the final quarter of the match coupled with Luis Suarez’s firsthalf strike erased the gloss from what Klopp considered to be Liverpool’s
“best away performance in the Champions League” under his tenure.
Two things dominated his thoughts post-match — the first was the deflating conclusion that Firmino would not be fit for the reverse fixture after a cameo but, more importantly, Liverpool’s display gave him confidence that they could hurt Barca at Anfield in spite of the odds.
But when preparations began for the second-leg, there was another sizeable setback to contend with.
Mohamed Salah suffered concussion in the
3-2 victory at Newcastle in a match which did not do much to promote the notion of keeping a clean sheet against Messi and co.
The goal that Klopp most zoned in on at St James’ Park, however, was Divock 87 th-minute winner.
A day before the hosting of Barca, the manager felt the lift the Belgium international extracted from that decisive contribution would be key for a fast start in the second-leg.
On matchday, Klopp asked Origi what his greatest performance in a Liverpool shirt had been. ‘Borussia Dortmund away’ in the Europa League was the response and the instruction the forward received was to match or supersede that outing.
The Belgian’s optimism did not entirely reflect the initial mood on Merseyside that Tuesday. The evening prior had seen a 25-yard scorcher from Vincent Kompany arrow into the top corner against Leicester
Origi’s
City, effectively annihilating Liverpool’s chance of edging City to the title.
At Melwood on the morning of the match, the deflation of City’s result morphed into defiance. James Milner demanded that the highlights be switched off in the canteen, Virgil van Dijk talked about relishing his tussle with Suarez following the Uruguayan’s theatrics in the first-leg and Jordan Henderson was reminding the squad of all the occasions they had already exceeded expectations.
The overriding mood at the training ground was later showcased via Salah’s choice of matchday attire — a black shirt with a ‘Never Give Up’ slogan.
Liverpool’s supporters were also shaking off disappointment and planning to turn Anfield into a “football party” as per Klopp’s request. The team bus