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Liverpool might need to recreate the so-called “Istanbul Miracle” if they want to qualify for next season’s Champions League, but despite how bad Jurgen Klopp’s team has been in the Premier League in recent weeks, they call it Of European glory keeps on flashing this season, after a 4-0 aggregate victory over RB Leipzig, they secured a place in the quarter-finals.
The goals in the second half of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, four minutes apart, at the Ferenc Puskas Arena in Budapest were enough to win Liverpool’s home game in this round of 16 tie, which saw the 180 minutes played in the Hungarian capital due to COVID. -19 travel restrictions forcing both games to be held outside of England and Germany.
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Despite a lousy streak domestically that has seen Liverpool fall to eighth place in the Premier League, seven points behind the Champions League spots after six consecutive league losses at Anfield, Europe has once been plus a sanctuary for the six. time winners of the Champions League.
But now he needs to offer Liverpool more than just a welcome distraction from the embarrassing defense of their Premier League title. Realistically, winning the Champions League again is his best hope of playing in the competition again next season.
In 2005, Rafael Benítez’s Liverpool finished fifth, out of the Champions League qualifying positions, but won the European Cup against AC Milan in Istanbul, winning on penalties after trailing 3-0 at halftime. , to claim a place in the following season’s tournament.
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Although that Liverpool featured prominent players such as Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Jamie Carragher, they were certainly not one of the best teams in the club’s illustrious history. But he beat the odds, and Juventus and Chelsea in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, to achieve one of the most memorable victories in Champions League history.
That the end of this season is also in Istanbul, a year after the pandemic forced to move to the Turkish city, will undoubtedly make many liverpudlians believe that omens are on their side. Liverpool also knocked out a German club, Bayer Leverkusen, in the knockout stage in 2005, so perhaps the stars are starting to line up again.
But if we take the romance out of it and look for comparisons between now and 2005, is it legitimate to believe that this Liverpool can go all the way and win the Champions League for the seventh time this season?
Having reached the final in 2018 and 2019, winning in 2019, Klopp’s team certainly knows how to navigate the knockout stages. Klopp also led Liverpool to the 2016 Europa League final, so this group of players has a pedigree in European competition.
But the injuries that have derailed his Premier League title defense threaten to compromise his Champions League bid as well.
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, center, celebrates with the players after beating RB Leipzig in the Champions League. fake images
Injuries have devastated Klopp’s team and the loss of Virgil van Dijk to a season-ending knee injury has been the most damaging. Jordan Henderson’s recent addition to the casualty list following groin surgery that will keep the midfielder and captain out until mid-April has been another major blow.
Defensively, Liverpool have become a soft touch in the Premier League, but against Leipzig, they kept a clean sheet on both legs.
However, it remains to be seen whether they can succeed against one of the most fearsome attacking factions in Europe.
Ozan Kabak and Nat Phillips kept Leipzig quiet in Budapest, but both players lack the experience and quality to do the same against Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City.
In midfield, at least, Fabinho’s return strengthened Liverpool against Leipzig. The Brazilian has excelled as a makeshift center midfielder this season, but his energy and tenacity have been missed in midfield. If Klopp is able to keep Fabinho in his best position, then Liverpool can keep the best teams at bay.
If they can do that, Salah and Mane have shown that they can score against any rival in Europe, so Liverpool can still hold on to hope that they can make it all the way in the competition.
If they achieve a favorable draw in next week’s quarter-final draw, a route to Istanbul could be opened, but the absence of fans within Anfield will deny Liverpool one of their biggest assets on a European night.
And there’s also the question mark over whether Klopp’s exhausted team can stubbornly defend an advantage, or keep it tight enough for 180 minutes, to beat a stronger side. Benitez expertly commanded his team to do just that, but there is a suspicion that Klopp’s team is simply not built to contain and thwart.
But despite all its shortcomings and problems, Liverpool is still standing in the Champions League. They are in the last eight and can only focus on getting to Istanbul because now it is the only way to save their season.
Liverpool may lack the depth to go all the way, but that didn’t stop them in 2005. Maybe Istanbul is calling after all.
Source: espn.co.uk
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