Liverpool v Atletico
Right, it’s time for another European comeback to turn round what has been frankly otherwise a bit of a disappointing season;-). This comeback will not of course be on the scale of some of the epic comebacks for which they are famous. However, it gives me another chance to ramble on like an old codger, whilst reminiscing about the good old days and remembering some of those magical nights
Liverpool v Bruggge – UEFA Cup Final 1976 first leg. The match didn’t start well. Liverpool were completely outplayed and at half time they found themselves down a seemingly disastrous 0-2 with away goals counting double. At half time Bob Paisley made a change and brought on Jimmy Case to bolster the midfield. In the second half during an explosive 11 minute spell, spurred on by a raucous Kop, Liverpool scored three times without reply, through Ray Kennedy, Jimmy Case and Kevin Keegan to give Liverpool hope. In many respects the second leg provided the bigger challenge though and once again Kevin Keegan came to the rescue, scoring an equalising goal, to give Liverpool a 1-1 draw and a famous overall 4-3 win.
Liverpool v St Etienne European Cup Quarter Final 1977. Liverpool lost the first leg in France 1-0 and were lucky to escape that lightly. In the second leg, with the crowd behind them, they soon levelled the tie with a goal from Kevin Keegan which looped over the goalkeeper. Then, early in the second half, the away side stunned the Kop (and me) with a superb long range strike that meant Liverpool now needed two further goals to go through. Ray Kennedy gave them a glimmer of hope with a second half strike from a John Toshack knock down but, as time went on, hope started to fade. Then, David Fairclough (the ginger haired supersub) came on for Liverpool and in the 84th minute. with the clock running down he was put through on goal, cooly controlled it and slotted the ball past the advancing goalkeeper, in front of the Kop. which exploded in a sea of red and white.
AC Milan Liverpool – CL Final 2005. This is probably the most renowned and epic of all the great Liverpool European comebacks. 3-0 down at half time they were to all intents and purposes dead and buried. I turned off the telly at halftime with the intention of drowning my sorrows for the rest of the evening but, after a bit of swearing, I decided to watch the second half to see if they could at least show some fight in the second half and get back a bit of self respect. What followed is of course the stuff of legends, with Gerrard as Captain Fantastic soaring above the defence to get one back, followed swiftly by a Smicer goal and then the equaliser from Alonso off the penalty rebound won by Gerrard. Then, to finish off a perfect game, Dudek came to the stage with a late save and the penalty heroics, to top an unlikely and unexpected comeback.
Liverpool v Borussia Dortmund – Europa League 2nd Leg 2016. This second leg followed a creditable 1-1 draw in the first Leg and a useful away goal. Dortmund soon put that right when they took an 2 goal lead by halftime. In the second half, Origi hinted at the revival to come by getting a goal back, but that was quickly snuffed out be a third Dortmund goal. Not to be denied however, Liverpool, roared on by the crowd , responded with goals from Coutinho, then Sakho and finally, our most unlikely hero, Lovren WCCB or self confessed World Class Centre Back. This was the match that showed what Klopp and his team could achieve.
Liverpool v Barcelona – CL Semi Final 2018. Well, 3-0 down from the first leg against Barcelona, without Firmino or Salah, so they were out of the CL, right? Well, everyone knows what happens if you underestimate Liverpool. This was the latest example of what can happen when the manager, players and the crowd all join together to create an irresistible force. The facts say Gini two, Origi two, Barcelona nil but the match said everything about the team that we all chose.
We will need some of magic of those wonderful nights to beat a tough resilient Atletico and we know it won’t be easy. We know there will be twists and turns but we know have done it before and we know we can do it again because we know we are Liverpool
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