Liverpool’s coach Klopp, confirmed this morning that neither of the two strikers will be able to play at Anfield for the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Once again, fortune does not seem to be on Liverpool’s side. Salah and Firmino will not be able to recover soon enough to play at Anfield against Barcelona. This is not something that Liverpool is not used to in the Champios League the last few years. However, after the incredible effort that Klopp’s team have been making to compete for Premier League and UCL at the same time, it even feels more painful.
This Liverpool season has been incredibly successful both at the Premier league and the Champions league and both Salah and Firmino have been a big part of that success.
This is Klopp’s third year at Liverpool, and it has been the best one so far. In the Premier league, Liverpool is leader at the moment with two points over Manchester city. However, Man. City has still one more game to play. Liverpool had been the official leader for most of the season, but 12 straight wins by Pep Guardiola’s team, have put Liverpool in a position where they do not depend on themselves.
In the Champions League, Liverpool have had a sensational ride. Even if they had a very tough group stage, they were able to beat Napoli and go to the next round just behind PSG. In the playoffs, they beat Bayern Munich and Oporto with magnificent performances both home and away, but they did not expect to find such a powerful Messi in the semi-finals.
Salah and Firminho during a Liverpool’s game this season.
Barcelona already started with advantage, but even if football is unpredictable, the advantage looks even bigger now that Salah and Firmino will not play.
After the first leg of the champions league semi-final at the Camp Nou, everything look to be in Brcelona’s side. A score of 3-0 have always been enough in Champions league semi-finals history to make sure that the team with the advantage plays the final. This time, it might look like the story could be different because Liverpool had good chances and Klopp’s teams always compete at their best. However, after Klopp’s pre-game interview, where he confirmed that Salah and Firmino will not play, it looks like the epic come back that Liverpool fans were waiting for, will not be possible this time.
Klopp said «This is football, and everything is possible». This is true, but when you have to risk your defensive back to attack as much as possible, but you are playing against Messi and you do not have your two most dangerous forwards, the probabilities do not play in your favor.
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