FOWLER Anfield MUST be at its hostile best to give Pep a Euro nightmare
much of a game, and the atmosphere played a part in that. Of course, any game between Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho would always be a cagey affair, yet Chelsea’s caution wasn’t all about that.
They seemed a little too tentative, not afraid, but nervous for sure.
In recent times, Anfield has done that to equally experienced opponents.
In the run to the Europa League final a couple of years ago, Dortmund collapsed when the atmosphere got to them, and Villarreal were beaten before the start.
City have to be worried about that... and with all their complaints about flares before kick-off and such stuff, you sense they know it’s going to be a tough atmosphere.
I hope so. Not because I want Liverpool to have an advantage – but because I want all the players to experience a night like that.
If Anfield is at its most hostile, if the noise is at its most deafening, then it is one of the greatest nights in world football... and if City come through that, then they will truly deserve their place in the semi-final.
That is what European nights are all about, that is what you want as a footballer, to test yourself against the best on those truly memorable nights.
City have a bit of form when it comes to being slightly affected by the Anfield crowd. I don’t want to over-emphasise it, but I can remember a couple of times when they seemed just a little knocked out of their stride.
The 3-2 win in 2014 when both clubs were going for the title comes to mind. Vincent Kompany of all people made a mistake that day to give Philippe Coutinho the winner, so it can happen.
I think City may also have been surprised by Liverpool’s passion and intensity – spurred on by the crowd – when they scored three goals in nine minutes just after the break in January. It can happen at Anfield to the best.
I was there, and I can honestly say in the period before half-time and just after the break, I have never been more impressed with a visiting side coming to Anfield in recent years.
It’s strange to say it about a side who ended up 4-1 down, but City were brilliant!
And Pep Guardiola will remember that. He’ll be thinking, ‘we dominated them until that mad nine minutes, we have to dominate them again without the dodgy period’. Or whatever the Spanish equivalent of ‘dodgy’ is.
Liverpool have to recreate the emotion of that nine-minute period — and then defend better if they can get any sort of lead.
That means the crowd must help... and I know from experience they certainly have it in them.