Barca collapse stuns Reds鈥 Klopp
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Returning to the Liverpool dressing room, Juergen Klopp was savoring the unexpectedly smooth elimination of Manchester City.
Then the Liverpool manager was halted in his tracks.
There was even more stunning news from the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
Just like Liverpool, Barcelona started its quarterfinal second leg with a three-goal advantage.
Unlike Liverpool, Barcelona conceded at home the previous week.
It proved costly for Barcelona. AS Roma required a 3-0 victory to oust the Spanish league leader, and it was improbably accomplished to advance 4-4 on away goals.
鈥淚 walked up the stairs and somebody told me,鈥 Klopp said after Liverpool鈥檚 5-1 aggregate win over City. 鈥淚 really thought it was a joke. Not that I don鈥檛 respect Roma, the absolute opposite. They have a fantastic team. Edin Dzeko, wow.鈥
Wow, indeed. It was Dzeko鈥檚 6th-minute goal that signaled Roma鈥檚 determination to overhaul Barcelona. The former City striker then earned the penalty that was converted by Daniele De Rossi, and it was game on.
鈥淚t was something almost impossible,鈥 Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan said, 鈥渂ut in the end it became possible.鈥
Kostas Manolas鈥 header sealed Roma鈥檚 first trip to the European Cup semifinals since 1984.
鈥淭hey lost Mo Salah and they are in the semis,鈥 Klopp said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 quite a big thing.鈥
Klopp is fully aware of that. Liverpool is through to the semis in part thanks to Salah with his nine goals in 12 European matches 鈥 the latest in the 2-1 win at City on Tuesday.
Roma reluctantly sold Salah last June. But the need to comply with UEFA financial fair rules meant the Italian capital club cashed in on its biggest asset. For Liverpool, paying 42 million euros (then US$47 million) for the Egyptian forward now appears a bargain. It seemed more of a gamble at the time, given Salah had come off a season netting only once in his nine European fixture.
Now Salah鈥檚 39-goal haul this season is on a par with Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. Only one of them has a shot at picking up the European Cup in Kiev next month.
What seems remarkable is that both sides that reached the quarterfinals on Tuesday are far off the pace in their domestic competitions.
Liverpool trails Pep Guardiola鈥檚 City in the English Premier League by 17 points in 3rd place. Roma is even worse off in Serie A, toiling away 21 points behind Juventus in 4th place.
At a time when UEFA is trying to address concerns about the levels of competition balance in its competitions, seeing Liverpool and Roma advance is a welcome tonic.
鈥淭his competition is quite fair,鈥 Klopp said. 鈥淚 really think a normal final would have been City against Barcelona, and now they are both out.鈥
The Italian leader could join them on the UCL scrapheap later yesterday, with Juventus trailing holder Real Madrid 0-3.
That could leave Bayern Munich as the sole league leader still in contention in Europe with the newly crowned German Bundesliga champion holding a 2-1 advantage over Sevilla heading into yesterday鈥檚 second leg.
At stake is a place in tomorrow鈥檚 draw alongside Liverpool and Roma. What the two clubs have in common are investors from Boston, Massachusetts. Liverpool owner John W Henry also runs the MLB鈥檚 Boston Red Sox, while Roma chairman James Pallotta co-owns the NBA鈥檚 Boston Celtics.
Pallotta flung himself into the heart of the fans鈥 celebrations 鈥 and then into a fountain in the center of Rome. The American agreed to pay a fine and apologized to Mayor Virginia Raggi yesterday for the fountain dip. Rome city ordinances call for a 500-euro (US$600) fine for wading into historic fountains.
鈥淚鈥檓 on cloud nine,鈥 Pallotta said at the Stadio Olimpico before heading for a soaking in the Piazza del Popolo. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 more happy for the team that they get an opportunity to compete against the best teams, with only four left.
鈥淎nd I鈥檓 happy for Rome, the fans are so great, it鈥檚 good to see this. Fifteen minutes afterward I went outside and they鈥檙e still singing. You don鈥檛 get fans like that in too many places in the world.鈥
Anfield is one of them 鈥 the potential next European destination for Roma.
Liverpool, which beat Roma in the 1984 final, will be contesting its first UCL semifinal in a decade. For the five-time European champion, it will be the first trip to the last four with Henry running the club and Klopp in the dugout.
鈥淲hat I would really like to do,鈥 said Klopp, who reached the 2013 final with Borussia Dortmund, 鈥渋s to drink a beer and watch a Champions League game. Unfortunately, it is always work.鈥
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