UEFA Champions League: The Wave Of Red Flags Dominates The Spanish Giants

The entire Anfield turned into a fury of red waves, as bodies were being lifted, hugged and grappled with after Liverpool overturned the 3–0 defeat in Camp Nou to a 4–0 win in Anfield to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Finals.

This semi-final clash against Barcelona was something else altogether for Liverpool, as some Liverpool players started crying in disbelief and awe. They themselves were shocked to see what they had achieved.

At first, the chance of Liverpool defeated Barcelona seemed to be a far fetched dream, even after the pre-first-half goal. But then, after the half time that one goal became two, then three and then finally came a point where everyone’s breath was taken away as Barcelona conceded the fourth goal. With 79 minutes gone, it seemed that the most popular team of the modern era was reduced to just a bunch of stumbling yellow-shirted spectators, who could only watch the marvel that unravelled in front of them. A Champions League season that was moving towards another feather in the cap for Messi, was suddenly snatched away from him and given to someone else. The chance was lost.

It will be Liverpool, who will take their chance at winning the coveted Champions League trophy at Madrid.

There were two moments in the semi-final clash that redefined Liverpool’s history and captured the reality of this dreamlike situation — the final whistle, when redshirted bodies flooded the stadium and rose to celebrate this reality. This celebration was something else, it was not just people digging each other or huddling together, it was a celebration that tried to relive every single joyous moment of the night. It was speaking directly to the performance that preceded this celebration. It was an overhaul.

A well-known television football expert also raised his arms up and yelled at the sky. As team manager Klopp took Sadio Mane into his arms and spun him around, the entire standout came to life and jumped up. The entire stadium sang as if this was a giant musical being performed on Broadway. Such celebrations are unique to the English Football fraternity.

In such matches, it is almost mandatory to pinpoint one player and heave praise one them. Yet, this performance was more than just about one man’s talent- it was a performer with a unity of purpose. Yet, if one had to pick a player, it has to be Georginio Wijnaldum, who was the halftime sub but scored twice in the second half to bring Liverpool to level the tie on the aggregate. He was the one who made everyone believe for the first time that this was indeed possible.

Barcelona looked like a herd of sheep who had lost their shepherd. They were mindlessly running, as they tried everything- from tacking to taking half volley chances. Yet Klopp’s team was too brilliant in this clash to be subdued by anything else. They had found their groove and they were acting on it. But, the brilliance really came from a different corner of the game. Trent Alexander-Arnold was already having a sensational game, and he is more of a playmaker from the right flank who is utterly fearless in his movements and extremely accurate in his passing.

His brilliance came in when he walked across a corner after Liverpool earned a corner kick. He walked across, looked up, wandered away and then suddenly turned and spanked a low hard cross, as the yellow shirts went around lost in their own game. The Barca players had frozen in their places. Trent Alexander-Arnold quickly noticed that and caught Divock Origi’s eyes a to ping the perfect cross for a double take of a winning goal.

In this UEFA Champions League clash, Barca was lost from the get-go. Their over-reliance on Messi, made them lose sight of what can happen if that one player fails to perform then what happens.

Even after the first leg defeat by 3–0, the fans of Liverpool made sure that they hadn’t lost hope. Anfield was packed as usual, with flags and banners and mandatory songs before the kickoff.

Barcelona is known to have a habit of collapsing suddenly in different ages of the game for the past four years in the UEFA Champions League. Yet, when Liverpool scored the first goal, there was something valedictory in the air. The first goal, however, was a horrible mistake by Alba, which was then lapped up and finished by Origi.

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At this point, Barcelona was also gasping for air and seemed to have lost their way. They finally began their play at the stoppage time, when they finally seemed to regain consciousness and realise what was happening to them. Yet, by now Liverpool had tasted the first air of victory and they were never going to just give it away.

There is no doubt that the English Football has seen many more amazing matches in its European history, but this one has its own place. It was a moment when Liverpool reclaimed the chance to win the UEFA Champions League, which was slowly fading away from them. They climbed back from the abyss.

Originally published at Sporcial.