Barcelona imploded at Anfield to exit the Champions League against Liverpool on this day back in 2019
It has been five years since one of Anfield's most glorious nights, when Liverpool overcame all the odds to beat Barcelona 4-0 to reach the Champions League final.
24 hours earlier, that progress had seemed suddenly perched on a precipice. Vincent Kompany's thunderbolt for Manchester City against Leicester had felt like the final hammer blow to the Reds' fading hopes in a never-before-seen slugfest of a Premier League title race, meaning a likely 97 point tally would almost certainly not be enough to end that 29-year wait for a 19th league championship.
For the visitors from Catalonia, this was an opportunity to exorcise the ghosts of the previous season's surrender in Rome when they had lost a three-goal home first leg lead and crashed out in the quarter-finals. A trailer released at the time showed the horrified reactions of pop star Shakira - wife of Barcelona defender Gerard Pique - as the tide turned in the Reds' favour but closer examination of the episode reveals a fascinating insight into one of the greatest nights in Liverpool's history and the reverence Barca have - even in advance of the game - of the power of Anfield. Yet they are still powerless to do anything about it.
"Really it is something that has stuck in my memory", he says, "the entrance onto the pitch and the fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone".You can tell from the expression on the Brazilian's face these are not the normal platitudes footballers sometimes employ. Coutinho knows this to be true. "Next door was Skrtel, Maxi Rodriguez lived in the other, Pepe Reina in another and Fabio Aurelio was there.
Meanwhile by the Albert Dock, we see Barcelona fans arriving, enjoying fish and chips and taking in the city's sights Lionel Messi appears on camera to expand: "It was very hard because we relaxed, we were overconfident and we thought we were already in the final and that match shows you what the Champions League is."
While watching the pre-match spectacle, one says "They call them the red devils". This isn't the only thing they'll get wrong as the evening draws on. "We are prepared to suffer, we will suffer, it's going to be tough." But they have no idea just how tough."We can't waste this opportunity, ok? Give everything, now that we are here.The match begins. We all know what happened but it's fascinating to see it through Barcelona eyes.
As Barcelona begin to threaten and create chances of their own, Coutinho is denied by Alisson and Messi shoots narrowly wide leading to grimaces from Shakira."Yes", she says,"close again", but the anxiety her husband and his team are facing is etched all over her face.Speaking after the event, Gerard Pique says "When they score the first goal very quickly then I suppose the ghosts of Rome appear.
"But the question is being there strong. Every time we get the ball from them, we're dangerous. Everything will be decided here, near their area." Liverpool go straight back on the attack and one of Shakira's sons tries to comfort her, saying: "If it stays like this, it doesn't matter. We'll go through to the final."
"Messi always scores, this is the one that will save us. Let's cross our fingers..", one of them says. With the Barcelona defence dazed and confused from the intense pressure they've been under, the young Scouser spots an alert Divock Origi looking his way and sends a quickly-taken but accurate low cross in the Belgian striker's direction while those in the bright yellow shirts - hardly any of whom are even looking in the direction of the ball - are still thinking about where they might stand for the corner.
The three fans watching together in Barcelona cannot speak. One just looks to the heavens and sighs "Oh!"Not a word is spoken. The only sound is of that of the showers running and club staff going about their business, putting drinks out and tidying mess away. Many of the players cannot even bring themselves to get changed.Messi looks on the verge of tears. Suarez looks like he wants to batter someone.
Coach Valverde explains: "When you take a hit of this type, what you often do is take shelter in your family, in yourself and forget about everything."In the end, you always think if you could or should have changed something, or not changed anything. With the game against Rome, I thought about it many times and I prepared it knowing the experience of the previous year.
UEFA Champions League Jurgen Klopp Luis Suarez Lionel Messi Barcelona FC Divock Origi Georginio Wijnaldum
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