There’s more than Ron way to get past Atletico says Beglin
JIM BEGLIN has watched up close as Atletico Madrid crumbled from a much stronger position in the second leg of a Champions League last-16 tie.
And he doesn’t have to jog his memory too far to recall it. In fact, it’s almost exactly a year since Diego Simeone’s men brought a 2-0 lead to Turin and only had to finish the job against Juventus.
The last eight beckoned for the Spanish club and, having been beaten finalists in 2014 and 2016, this looked like it could be the year they would finally go all the way under their Argentine boss.
And then Cristiano Ronaldo did what Cristiano Ronaldo does: he scored a sensational hat-trick to dump Atletico out and leave Simeone heartbroken.
“He won’t want to see his side fall apart like that again,” said Beglin, who was working for RTE that night.
“They just didn’t look the same team, they were so poor and made so many mistakes you wouldn’t expect from them.
They had all the dirty tricks that you come to expect, to try and slow the game and ruin it as a spectacle but they didn’t work against Juventus.”
The former Liverpool title winner added: “They were just too good for them on the night and it seemed as if the pressure of the situation got to Atletico once Juventus scored in the first half. After that they were in big trouble and they couldn’t really recover. That is still fresh in my mind and consider what Anfield can be like on nights like this, with those fans driving Liverpool on.”
The Reds’ sense of invincibility has been dented in the couple of weeks since that 1-0 defeat in the first leg in the Spanish capital.
They edged out West Ham 3-2 and suffered back-to-back defeats against Watford and Chelsea.
Beglin added: “It is going to be another huge night at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp will get the crowd fired up and emotions will be running high. “Liverpool will feed off that but they have a job to do too and they have to find a way of breaking Atletico down.”
JURGEN KLOPP knows Liverpool are on the brink of the title – and he could not help but look back to 2014 and Steven Gerrard’s infamous ‘slip’ against Chelsea.
The Liverpool boss watched a nervy victory over Bournemouth to take the Anfield giants a step closer to ending their 30-year wait for the title.
Following three defeats in four games, the Reds needed to get back on track.
After Callum Wilson set hearts racing on the Kop, first-half goals from Mo Salah and Sadio Mane – plus a last-ditch goal-line clearance from James Milner in the second half – delivered victory and Liverpool are now 25 points clear of their nearest challengers at
OH NO! Gerrard’s infamous slip against Chelsea at Anfield in 2014 the top. Klopp said: “There are teams in the history of football that slip but not these guys – I love the reaction of the boys.”
You couldn’t help but think of ex-skipper Gerrard’s unfortunate moment in April 2014 when his slip let Chelsea’s Demba Ba in to score – and allowed Man City to take the title.
So take a bow Milner. The man who has taken on the mantle of the most ‘boring’ footballer of all time ensured the Reds took three points. With Liverpool clinging on to a 2-1 lead in the 65th minute, Ryan Fraser ran through on goal, beat the hapless Adrian to the ball, and lobbed over him.
The ageless Milner never gave up the chase and threw himself towards the ball – which was all but over the line – to hook it clear and preserve the Reds’ lead.
Klopp added: “The biggest chance was obviously Ryan Fraser’s chance and Milly saved our life with his goal-line clearance.”
Salah – along with Mane and Virgil van Dijk – has entered the realms of the Anfield greats this season.
The Egyptian in fact, has eclipsed all those illustrious strikers who came before him.
His goal after 25 minutes was a case in point – a touch of true class to transform what was