da jogodeouro： It was meant to be another Anfield Champions League night for the ages.
da stake casino： With Liverpool needing a two-goal victory to progress against Atletico Madrid, the Reds were hoping for the backing of their home crowd. It had done wonders for them last year against Barcelona – arguably a better footballing side with the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez – even though they were 3-0 down from the first leg, after all.
Following the first match at the Wanda Metropolitano, left-back Andrew Robertson was defiant in his assessment of both that fixture and the return clash on Merseyside.
He said: “They celebrated like they won the tie after the game, so let’s see. They’re coming back to Anfield, we know our fans will be there. We know we’ll be there. It’s up to them to come as well.”
Those comments have backfired spectacularly. Diego Simeone’s men were very much there, and they put in a battling performance to make it through to the next round.
Liverpool had chances, no doubt – they had 11 shots on target overall – but they were unable to cause enough damage to put Los Rojiblancos to the sword, and in the end, it was Atletico who even came away with the 3-2 victory on the night.
Not only have those comments come back to haunt the 25-year-old, though, they are also incredibly ironic. It seems that the Premier League leaders counted on the supporters to give them the extra edge they needed to get them over the line and, by having anyone there at the match at all, they were potentially putting the health of everyone involved at risk.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, your day-to-day life will have been filled with constant updates on the global pandemic Coronavirus. However, COVID-19 has affected football as well. Already this week, two Champions League matches have been played without fans – PSG beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in front of an empty stadium, and Atalanta did the same against Valencia.
Even with fans at the ground, though, it seemed that Atletico were the side who thrived off it more. Had the decision been taken to have no-one present at Anfield, this may have been a very different story – with their more-attacking style, Liverpool may well have been able to concentrate even more on the task at hand.
As it is, though, the Reds are out of the competition, and it is up to Jurgen Klopp and co to find out where they have gone wrong.
Meanwhile, this famed youth academy could provide Liverpool with their Sadio Mane replacement.