Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona - 6 Reasons why Liverpool completed the 'remontada'
Liverpool pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in footballing history when they overturned a 3-0 first leg deficit to triumph 4-3 on aggregate and progress to the final where they would come up against either Ajax or Tottenham on June 1st in Madrid.
The fact that Barcelona had within its ranks the great Lionel Messi who has been in pristine form this season had many fans writing off Liverpool before a ball was kicked in anger in the second leg.
The Reds’ woes were further compounded when two-thirds of their attacking trident was ruled out of the match as Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino suffered injuries which saw them fail to make the starting lineup.
However, football is very much a game where anything can happen and even though majority expected Barcelona to progress, there was a little number who forewarned Barcelona to be wary of the threat posed by Liverpool.
Liverpool dominated proceedings for most of the match and were good money for their value, with the result justifying the progress they have made under Jurgen Klopp. In this piece, we shall be highlighting six factors which saw Liverpool complete this most unlikely of remontadas.
#6 The Anfield factor
To the uninformed football fan, Stadia are just surface representations of where the game of football is disputed, with lines and dimensions signifying the various partitions on the field.
However, to those who truly know what football is all about, a stadium is much more than a field, as it serves as the home ground for football clubs and holds the very essence of the soul of the teams.
There are stadia and there are truly legendary stadia, with there being a select few stadia that have achieved a historic standing as mythical grounds and Anfield very much belongs in the latter category.
Built in 1884, Anfield has been the home of Liverpool since then and in the intervening 135 years, generations of Liverpool supporters have seen numerous historic feats achieved on the hallowed ground and the comeback against Barcelona is sure to rank high up there with the best of them all.
Prior to kickoff, 54,000 Liverpool faithful belted out a heart wrenching rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone which gave everyone watching the match goosebumps and must have boosted the morale of the Liverpool players.
For 90 minutes, they were there all through, lifting their team and giving them that extra support to go all the way.
It came as no surprise that Liverpool got an early goal given the immense support they received, while the second half brought about the three goals needed to progress.
The support received by the fans at Anfield played a huge role in seeing Liverpool through and this much was evident as everybody associated with the club from players down to technical support gathered at full time to pay tribute to the Kop end.
Fans play a crucial part in football matches and nowhere was this more evident than at Anfield last night and ultimately, the importance of home support was illustrated in Liverpool’s victory over Barcelona.