Liverpool’s victory over Barcelona at Anfield in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final is one of the greatest in the history of the competition.
The Reds fought back in sensational fashion, with Divock Origi netting the decisive goal on a magical night at Anfield.
Barcelona have never fully recovered from that night and their manager Ernesto Valverde has admitted that the defeat resulted in a dip for his team. As quoted on MARCA, he said:
Until Liverpool. we were having an incredible Champions League. At Anfield, we had chances but they scored early on and psychologically we started worrying that what happened in Rome might happen again.
There was a moment of weakness and we paid for it. It was one of the toughest moments of the year. We must admit that the hit we took in Liverpool meant our morale was down going into the Copa [del Rey] final [against Valencia].
If we’d won against Liverpool, we’d have won the Copa [del Rey] final too.
READ LIVERPOOL VERDICT
Barca went on to lose the Copa del Rey and whenever any of their players speak about that night, their sadness and misery are evident.
As for the Reds, that victory seems to have taken the team to another level, domestically and in Europe.
Valverde’s honesty is admirable but it was clear for everyone to see how the defeat negatively impacted the team. However, they’re top of the La Liga at the moment and will want to avenge that defeat this season.
