Being a Liverpool supporter is not easy. We must be mentally prepared. Quite often, Liverpool fans are in an acute anxious situation. Mainly when following Liverpool’s appearance in the important round of the Champions League. In Istanbul, Turkey, 14 years ago, Liverpool won their fifth title in the Champions League in a ‘crazy’ way. They fell behind 0-3 in the first round from AC Milan who seemed to be able to win easily. You can imagine how the emotional situation of Liverpool fans at that time. Maybe they have given up. But, Liverpool was able to equalize the score in the second half in just nine minutes. Then, winning through a penalty shootout. In fact, when Liverpool won their sixth title in Madrid on June 1, 2019, they were also virtually eliminated quickly. The Reds had threatened to fail to escape the group stage.
They had been on the ‘edge of a cliff’ with only one chance of survival: winning in the last match. But again, Salah’s single goal took Liverpool to beat Napoli 1-0 and qualify for the round of 16. Well, the gripping situation last year, it turned out to be repeated in the Champions League this season. Liverpool who are in Group E, again threatened to fail to qualify for the round of 16. Detained by Napoli 1-1 at Anfield on Matchday V, 28 November, making Liverpool like on the edge of a cliff. They are vulnerable to falling. The final matchday match will be Liverpool’s last bet. And, unfortunately, the last bet was not played at Anfield. In fact, Liverpool must go to the headquarters of the team who also need to win to qualify for the knockout phase.
Such a situation was faced by Liverpool in the final matchday of the Champions League group phase that was played midweek. Liverpool came to the Austrian team headquarters, Salzburg, Wednesday, with a target not to lose. If they lose, Juergen Klopp’s team must say goodbye to the Champions League. Liverpool (10) and Salzburg (7) points will be the same. But, Salzburg is very likely to win head to head goals for Liverpool because they only lost 3-4 at Anfield. While at the same time, Napoli (9 points) are very likely to win because ‘only’ entertain the caretaker team, Genk.
But again, Liverpool proved that they were happy to make their fans anxiously hope. Allowing the fans to be dumped, then sent happy news. Yes, Liverpool won 2-0 at Salzburg headquarters with two goals in two minutes scored by Naby Keita in the 57th minute and Mo Salah in the 58th minute.
Wrong goals were in the spotlight but because of his foresight in placing the ball into the goal even though the angle is very narrow. After passing the Salzburg goalkeeper on the left side of the goal, Salah’s movements are still overshadowed by several Salzburg defenders. The Egyptian striker turned out to be able to direct the ball into the goal even though it seemed absurd.
While at the Sao Paolo stadium in the City of Naples, Napoli, coached by Carlo Ancelotti, closed the group phase with a 4-0 win over Genk through a hat-trick of Polish striker Arkdiusz. After last season failed to qualify in the final match, Ancelotti can now take Napoli to the last 16. The final result in Salzburg made Liverpool safe from the possibility of splashed into a cliff. In fact, Liverpool qualified as group winners. That is, they will face the runner-up team in the last 16. “This is the end of the story. We are once again able to deal with a difficult situation well,” said Jordan Henderson, Liverpool captain.
It would be interesting to see how far Liverpool will go in the Champions League next round.
ASL
