The two late goals in the first leg at Anfield have given the Giallorossi hope they can repeat their Barcelona heroics and beat Liverpool to reach the Champions League finalIn the last few days the city has been trembling with excitement. No one speaks about anything else: there is only Roma v Liverpool, in the bars and in the restaurants, among friends or on the metro. It will be a great celebration of sport with an extraordinary atmosphere: trust me, the Olimpico will be an inferno.For Roma it is only their second time in a European Cup semi-final, and therefore something historic: the climate inside the stadium will be even hotter and even more fiery than what we saw against...
Roma only clawed back hope once Salah went off at Anfield and they will be terrified of leaving space in behind for him to attackSlightly fewer than four minutes separated Edin Dzeko’s goal for Roma at Anfield and the penalty awarded rather harshly against James Milner, and in that short space of time the Italians rose from a trance. At 5-0 they were out, they would have needed at least six goals in the second leg. At 5-2 Roma had more than a straw to clutch at, they had given themselves a glimmer of hope, suddenly required only half the number of goals, and had the recent memory of beating Barcelona 3-0 for inspiration.Jürgen Klopp will not be short of...
Milner has become the most creative player in a single Champions League season through the unassuming virtues of versatility, game-management and fitting into a systemSometimes the cock crows at midnight, the cats bark a dawn chorus and the cow does indeed jump over the moon. Just as every now and then a football statistic crops up that goes against every prevailing metric and trend, which seems not so much an anomaly as a case of football simply kicking off its shoes and enjoying itself.Only the stoniest heart could fail to be cheered a little by the news that James Milner is now out there alone as the most incisive creative player over the course of a single season in Champions...
Liverpool’s blitzing of Roma stands in a proud tradition of European occasions on which their will to win overwhelmed opponents. Here are five of the bestThis season’s Champions League is already confirmed as the highest-scoring ever in terms of goals per game, and Liverpool are out in front as leading scorers. This might come as a surprise to anyone who remembers the club’s glory days of the 1970s and 80s, when European success was built on a tight defence and a willingness to grind out narrow victories. But though Liverpool’s present penchant for blowing teams away with scintillating waves of attack is relatively new, there have been occasions in the past when illustrious opponents have found their will to win...
The manager’s measured assessment of the exhilarating 5-2 Champions League semi-final victory contrasts with the blame game of his Roma counterpart Eusebio Di FrancescoThe awe and wonder from a remarkable Anfield night has not diminished the day after. Fifteen minutes to play in a Champions League semi-final and Jürgen Klopp thinks of Stoke. Almost 60% remains of a tie to decide the cream of Europe’s elite and it is Bruno Martins Indi, Erik Pieters and Mame Biram Diouf who enter the Liverpool manager’s head as he withdraws Mohamed Salah to safeguard against injury. What’s more, he admits it too. “I’m not thinking of one game,” Klopp said. The thought was justified, and another measure of Liverpool’s astonishing command over Roma....