Football News Today

Liverpool can dream of Champions League glory 

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Liverpool football club, based in Merseyside is a club that is known for trophies, passionate fans and a wonderful stadium. The atmosphere at Anfield on matchdays are unlike what many opposition fans have felt before, and many players have admitted that they crumble under this intense spotlight and fail to make their moment in the sun worthwhile.

The glory days are returning to the club, it would seem under charismatic German manager, Jurgen Klopp. While many fans still idolize the good old days of Shankly, Paisley and Dalglish, Klopp is building something special at Liverpool.

After arriving in 2015, the former Borussia Dortmund manager told people associated to the club to judge him after 4 years, and it seems that after close to 3 years, he is finally showing the promise that made the Reds sign him despite the underwhelming end to his managerial career in Germany.

Liverpool are in the Champions League semifinals and it is testament to Klopp’s work that no team wanted to meet them in the last 4. The manner they took apart Manchester City sent a signal to the rest of Europe. Both teams met over two legs, and Liverpool made the Citizens look so ordinary.

While the profile of both clubs in Europe is incomparable, City were actually favoured to go through given  the way Pep Guardiola has them playing this term but Liverpool destroyed them 5-1 on aggregate, playing some of the most devastating counter-attacking football ever seen since the European Cup became the Champions League back in ’92. With the likes of Mohammed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in fine form, defenders left in the competition are expected to have sleepless nights trying to contain them.

The trio are the most lethal in European football at the moment, scoring close to 80 goals among themselves. The Reds have been drawn against Roma in the semifinals, which is not an easy fixture. However, the fact that they have avoided the pair of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will help their quest to reach the final easier. Roma will not be pushovers, as their dismantling of Barcelona in Rome showed, but Liverpool are still expected to go through to the final. Should they get to the showpiece in Kiev, anything is possible.

Playing at a neutral venue and with a manager with something to prove will work in their favour. Klopp suffered defeat in the competition final with Dortmund back in 2013, and will want nothing more than to win the tournament. Liverpool, though have flaws. With Salah leading, the Reds are confident of scoring against any team and the added presence of Van Dijk at the back has brought a reassurance to the once-jittery defence. The midfield doesn’t have a recognized specialist anchorman, and against any top side in Europe that orchestrates things from deep in their half, they may suffer.

That said though, Liverpool are looking for a 6th European Cup, 13 years on from that famous night in Istanbul. As they have shown this season, they can do it against any team. Their fans can dream once again.

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