Liverpool Rise from the Ashes

When Liverpool opened the gates of Anfield to host the second leg of the Champion’s League Semi-Final against Barcelona, it is safe to say they were the underdog. At yet against all the odds they pulled off a win that no-one ever expected them to be able to do, beating Barcelona in an astonishing 4-0 victory and leading themselves neatly into the final with 4-3 on aggregate and a very real chance of lifting the cup as bonusbets.com reports.

The first leg of the cup was not a game they will ever want to talk about again. In what can only be described as a humiliating defeat they left their opponents ground having been beaten 3-0, and their heads hung in shame. So, they were expected to exit the tournament at this now historic match that will be talked about for years to come. The atmosphere in the stadium went from relatively flat to increasingly excitable as they scored goal after goal and commentators jumped out of their seats and yelled into their microphones. 4-0 was the bare minimum score they needed to change their fortunes, and as lady luck would have it, they somehow managed to do just that. Barcelona left in shock having assumed they were headed to the final, and now having to accept they were out of the competition for this year.

The complete turn around between the games is not something anyone can explain. Clearly, the team were hungry for the win, and they came with the right attitude, believing they could somehow turn things around rather than accepting defeat. The strongest players were on the field including Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets and the early goal must have done wonders for their confidence. Barcelona is not the sort of team to just roll over, and they put up a great fight, and Alisson seemed to have magic hands in the goal as he neatly pushed away every single approach on his net. By the end of the night, the fans were on their feet, grown men cried tears of joy and Liverpool sealed their place in the final where they will now meet Tottenham in an all English Premier League final on the first of June. In the words of former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson speaking to BBC Sport after the match “I don't believe Liverpool could have pulled off their famous Champions League victory over Lionel Messi and Co without the help of their fans, who I know from experience are like a 12th man when you are out there on the pitch. As a Liverpool player, I learnt for myself what a difference that support makes - I would describe it as a feeling of 'whoosh', and ‘wow'. You might think you are tired, but then you run and chase the ball and make a tackle and the place goes mad. You are thinking 'how good is this' and you want some more of it. For the opposition, the opposite is true. The crowd unsettles and unnerves them, as much as it lifts and inspires the Liverpool players.”