Klopp's Champions League Final Midfield Dilemma
Who else is suffering from both unrivalled levels of excitement and nerves ahead of the Champions League final?
This one really does feel like a must-not-lose, doesn't it?
In truth, Jurgen Klopp finds himself without too much stress ahead of the clash with Tottenham on June 1st, with a fully fit squad to choose from and legs well rested.
There is no drama affecting matters away from the pitch, meaning sole focus is on securing European Cup number six and …
Why Matthijs De Ligt Should Sign For The Reds
The race to sign 19-year-old Matthijs De Ligt has been widely debated already in this summer transfer window.
Liverpool, Barcelona and others, have been reportedly interested in signing the highly-rated Dutch centre-back. As with any other transfer window, speculation and rumours on social media have complicated the situation with journalists, pundits and fans unsure of where De Ligt’s future lies.
Even within the last few days, it has been reported that the centre-back is set to join Barcelona, without any …
Time For Klopp's Liverpool To Stop Being Nearly Men
In Jürgen Klopp’s first season as Liverpool manager, his team reached an excellent two cup finals, losing the League Cup final on penalties to Man City, before throwing away a 1-0 lead at half-time to Sevilla in the Europa League final, a competition that included sensational wins over Man United, Villareal and most notably Borussia Dortmund.
Now at the time, and certainly with hindsight, Liverpool fans certainly felt that these cup finals were the Reds ahead of schedule, and not …
Try wipe the smile from my face
Grinning at the wall as I stand at a urinal. It’s the litmus test for happiness - male happiness, at least.
Not only was I trying to engage the lavatorial tilework in a joyous staring contest, but I was also making eye-contact with other men in this den of iniquity - trying to engage them in conversation about a football match. That’s unheard of, in my life, at least. It’s normally a case of getting in, doing what I’ve got …
Muchas Gracias - How Liverpool upset the population of Barcelona
Three days after Liverpool emphatically turned around a three-goal deficit to reach the Champions League final, I arrived in Barcelona for a short trip still ecstatic from the result.
What I learned just moments after getting off the plane was that this result hasn’t just hurt Messi and the rest of the team it’s hurt a whole city. Getting into a taxi outside the airport the driver immediately noticed my Liverpool jersey before venting his frustrations in a Spanish slur.
…
We're All Believers Now
The concept of belief is a funny thing.
Very close to the end of Liverpool’s incredible, awe-inspiring, death-defying 4-0 win over Barcelona, the question was asked whether there were any Liverpool fans who believed that their team would be in that position, hanging on (if you could call it that, the result was almost never in doubt by the end) to a 4-3 aggregate lead.
And I guess everyone has their own story. For me, I was about to board …
Divock Origi: The epitome of a Jürgen Klopp squad player
What a week it's been for Divock Origi.
First, he scores an 86th-minute winner against Newcastle to take the title race into the final day of the season.
Then, due to an injury to Roberto Firmino, he gets given the nod to start against Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final. And scores twice.
Who knew that back when he scored that iconic 96th-minute winner against Everton at Anfield back in December that it would be the start of things to …
Fabinho & Henderson stand tall on the biggest stage
Who else is still bouncing? Who else can’t think about anything apart from THAT game? Who else wouldn’t change this Liverpool team for the world?
Tuesday night is seconded only to Istanbul for me, in terms of drama, passion and emotion, on a night that genuinely felt flat in my mind before kick-off.
This time they really weren’t going to turn it around, were they? That Vincent Kompany stunner against Leicester had only further dampened spirits, following an extremely harsh …
Liverpool leave the past behind in thrashing of Barcelona
This club is the mix of atmosphere, emotion, desire and football quality. Cut off one and it doesn't work.The words of a stunned, joyous and emotionally drained Jürgen Klopp after the greatest Anfield night of his tenure: a perfect storm of atmosphere, emotion, desire and football quality that tore into Barcelona, blowing their European dreams apart and reducing even the greatest footballer ever to a footnote in what had been a special European tie. 3-0 down after …
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona: Who was man of the match?
There are truly no words so soon after the greatest European night in Anfield's history, but I'll try to find some.
This was a depleted Liverpool side - no Mohamed Salah, no Roberto Firmino and, after halftime, no Andrew Robertson - but each and every man in red wrote themselves into footballing folklore.
Never has there been such an embarrassment of riches in the MOTM discussion.
Alisson Becker kept us in the competition with his remarkable sprawling save against Napoli …