LIVERPOOL do battle on the football fields of Europe again, and if all goes as predicted and prayed for by the Kop, fans can soon look forward to a second successive semi-final in the Champions League.
Barcelona awaits the winner of the Porto vs Liverpool tie, with Jurgen Klopp’s side hot favourites to progress after a 2-0 win at Anfield in the first leg. There is also the small matter of the manager’s unblemished record of progress in two-legged ties in Europe so far.
Augsburg, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Villarreal, Hoffenheim, Porto, Manchester City, Roma and Bayern Munich have all been defeated by Klopp’s Liverpool teams over two legs.
Klopp is asked by a Portuguese journalist, which competition does Liverpool want most… the Premier League or Champions League? "Oh, I haven't heard that question before.
"Tomorrow, the Champions League. Then on Sunday, the Premier League."
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) April 16, 2019
It means that, should The Reds progress, a tantalising tie that would send shivers down the spine of some would hold no fear for Liverpool. The Nou Camp has hosted 42 matches between Barca and English sides. Only two teams have emerged victorious. And both were Liverpool, in 1976 and 2007. Where so many clubs fell, The Reds have conquered.
History? Irrelevant? Different sides, different times? Maybe. But these facts always appeal. Maybe sowing a small seed of doubt for the club on the wrong side of history. Maybe providing a little lift for the club on the right side.
Lionel Messi might have undressed Manchester United this week. But perhaps when he sees the name Liverpool he remembers a tougher task when Craig Bellamy came to town swinging imaginary golf clubs.
Even if past triumphs mean nothing for those facing off on the pitch, they remain a source of pride for those that travel around the world to watch the team off it. Klopp may have lost both the Europa League and the Champions League finals during his time as the manager of Liverpool but, as with most things in football, there is a story behind the story.
The club’s name is relevant and revered again. And supporters are clocking up the passport stamps once again. As the manager put it post victory at The Allianz Arena, “we are back on the international landscape as a football club”.
Previous to Liverpool’s charge to last season’s Champions League final in Kiev, The Reds’ recent record in Europe’s top competition had been severely lacking.Only two seasons ago, Anfield was starved of any European football.
It felt strange not to witness something that feels like it is sown deep into the club’s DNA. It met no tuning in for the draw, no race to book transport via weird and wonderful routes to taste a new section of soil away from the norm of Premier League grounds.
Frankly, it was weird. Before that, the two previous tilts at Champions League football – in 2014 and 2009 – had ended at the group stages. For a club with one of the proudest records in continental competition, waving through Real Madrid and Basel in 2014 and Fiorentina and Lyon in 2009 represented a huge fall from grace and just added weight to a worry that all wasn’t well.
Jürgen Klopp has won 16 of 20 two-legged ties in European competitions in his managerial career.
He has never lost a two-legged tie as Liverpool manager in Europe — winning all nine. pic.twitter.com/R1zHevEBLl
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) April 17, 2019
Last season and this has righted that wrong. Klopp has rekindled the love affair with the trophy that has been wrapped in red five times. And it’s not just Liverpool fans that think his side have a chance now. The improvement, the nous, the levels this side have reached on a consistent basis have not gone unnoticed across Europe. Even Rio Ferdinand thinks The Reds have a chance.
Meanwhile, for all the love and affection showered on Manchester City and their achievements, the Champions League has remained elusive to them. Since Liverpool last lifted the trophy 14 years ago, there have been eight English finalists: Arsenal, Liverpool (twice), Chelsea (twice) and Manchester United (three times). City’s best performance in the competition was reaching the semi-finals.
It suggests it’s not easy, and that progressing deep into the competition in successive seasons is a clear mark of progress. Much of the focus on Liverpool’s rise has been on this season’s league performances – understandably so when The Reds of 2018-19 have already clocked up the club’s fifth highest points tally in the top flight with four games still to play.
But flying the flag in Europe matters, too. It always has to Liverpool. And Reds in Porto will proudly be doing just that today.
