“HE’S given it. He’s given it.”
“It was Lallana in the end.”
“He’s given it. It’s been given. And look at Kolo.”
Look at Kolo. Look at him. We’re on top of each other, shins burning. But look at Kolo. Telling them one at a time to focus. Telling them one at a time big five. Telling them one at a time there is still a job to do. The job to do.
But this. The best three-word sentence in the whole wide world anyone can ever say to you is this:
“He’s given it.”
If it is your side he has given it to. Love can be a passing thing but a contentious goal given in your favour, well, that lasts forever. He’s given it. It has been given. And Villarreal are left needing two when it looked like one hadn’t been in their interests and Liverpool are to all intents and purposes in a European final.
They got there with a ton of panache. Undeserved panache in many ways. This isn’t a side that is steeped in European experience. But on this website, more than most others, we can say this: Walk it and talk it and work the rest out after. You can live a life like this, work a team out like this. Walk it and talk it. The rest will box itself.
Across 90 minutes Liverpool looked like lads who had done this a thousand times before. A show run. Emre Can and James Milner running it like it is just one of them. Like it is Sunday league stuff and it belongs to them.
There was this worry that the occasion wouldn’t match Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United and you know what? It didn’t. It just didn’t. There are occasions, and there are football matches you need to win to create occasions. This was one of the latter. Liverpool needed to create the occasion. They have done.
It’s a night where the spine deserve praise. Lovren and Kolo. The aforementioned centre mid. Firmino and Sturridge. The latter especially did moments very well. Scores one and forces the other two. It wasn’t pretty and he is a player we associate with pretty. Instead it was ball in the back of the net. Instead it was Liverpool in the final, not Villarreal.
Daniel Sturridge was so happy to score. So aggressively happy to have scored it was as though he had had treatment. When someone says that he doesn’t care, look at his face. Just look at his face. He wanted this so much.
The ball is bundled across the line for the third and it is all over bar the shouting. Lallana claims it and the Reds know. But what happens next when we know he has given it is Kolo. All the Kolo.
The final whistle goes and Liverpool spill onto the pitch. There is this lovely moment where Klopp comes onto the pitch. He pumps his fists and the crowd goes mad. He does it again as the crowd buzzes for it, pulls for it. Beautifully, sheepishly, he does it one more time. He gilds the lily. He gilds it.
He’ll do well here, this lad. Gilding the lily is what we do, what this city does marvellously. We can’t look at a lily without gilding it. That is one of our things. One of the things which makes us unpopular. I love a gilded lily. God bless that gilding. God bless him enjoying it. You will do for me, sunshine. You will do for us I suspect. Do for us.
We probably, across the course of the season, don’t deserve this. We haven’t been quite good enough for a cup final. This doesn’t matter though. It isn’t the way football works. You grab what you can. You go from there. Cup finals? Brilliant. All the best.
We have one. We’ve been good enough in key moments and if you’ve been paying attention then key moments are everything.
Europa League final. Great set of lads. A set of heroes. This is how it works. They become heroes by winning against Manchester United and winning against Borussia Dortmund and winning against Villarreal. They become heroes then. Adore them.
Up the gilded Reds.
never in doubt. 11 beautiful reds out there tonight.
Bloody ‘ell there’s more than one Peter Gibbons. Better change the song.
I’m Spartacus!
That Sturridge celebration will live long in my memory. The reds taught Villarreal a lesson today – a lesson ho, and WHEN, to celebrate. Better luck next time boys. The final – is ours this year. Well worth getting up at 0300 for. Now off to work.
And Saldado – nasty little shit of a player. He got what he deserved too.
Onwards the gilded Reds!
Soldado remembered for an impotent shoulder barge on Mignolet in a 5-0 humiliation, firing in a goal signifying less than nothing.
Will be be remembered for cheap theatrics, but will be memorialized on Vines of Firmino showing him what a turn looks like.
Best left-for-dead expression since the Berbatov nutmeg.
Never in doubt, see that man with his hand on the pitch, who’ll momentarily be claiming offside, it’s you you fucker! You played him on, regardless of anything else.
That game for me was the ‘job done’ with the epitome of ‘lack of fuss’. How was Suarez not carded until the last 10 ?
Great performance.
1 more step required.
Up the Reds, bloody hell !
Well said
‘You say it best when you say nothing at all.’ You know which great philosopher said that? … Ronan Keating.
You cannot leave the field of play to play a person offside. You cannot leave the field of play without the referee’s permission says the law., long time since i read it but it was never going to be offside. Still What a result!
Was wondering about that. Says it on page 27-28 here, http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/refereeing/law_11_offside_en_47383.pdf. Apparently you can even receive a caution for deliberately leaving the field of play to play someone offside (seems a bit OTT)
I am imagine that would have to be at the side of the pitch and walking to you bench or something similar and trying to convince that you are not active in play, to receive a booking. Rather than running off behind the goal whilst defending. Can’t see it ever happening though.
Loves a pirouette does our ghetto Brazilian. Can’t even be caught by an arm. Have some of that Soldado, you mug you.
And as for our 65 year-old centre half…
Fucking yes.
Look at the imbedded picture there. He keeps his hand on the pitch after the slide to keep Lallana on. Fuck them anyway. State of Soldado as well; he’s reminds me of Everton in his shiteness and pissy, loser mentality.
Anyone who doesn’t like Sturridge is no friend of mine. His celebration was all joyful rage. He had bigger fish to fry than just ‘doing the dance’. Love him.
Klopp has the people in the palm of his hand. The most electrifying man in sports entertainment since Shankly or Ali. Not even Clough or The Rock can compete with this level of charisma.
Soldado, yes. What an absolute sh*t-house.
He elbowed someone last week and was doing similar again last night.
How on earth he got that foul for backing into Toure I do not know.
3-1. Get in.
That one’s for you Roberto.
What an odd, cruel, delightful way for a hand to decide a game of football. What a glorious little quirk. Sometimes, it really is that beautiful game.
Not good enough for A cup final? No lads. Two cup finals. Up the reds.
Yeah of course we deserve to be in the final. Much better than United in the historic first time in Europe tie and found a way to edge Dortmund when we were outmatched.
City beat us in a final the other month alongside being the saddest champions league semi finalists I’ve ever seen in my life and they’ve been pitiful in a league they should’ve won this year as well. We’ve even battered them home and away in the league and we’ve been unwatchable bollocks in the league once to often this season too.
What an amazing night!
Studge!
While I’ve always liked Sturridge and his goal scoring record should silence all critics, I did take a while to warm up to his wavy hands celebration.
“But Daniel, that’s how you celebrate a goal, lad.”
If he celebrates like that more often, he’ll melt the cold hearts.
Great piece Neil,as usual.
The Reds were irresistible. Fabulous performances from everyone all over the park. Including S&Mignolet in goal,assured throughout. Moreno however needs to leave. Atrocious defender,dumb as pigshit. That push at 2-1 is a pen for eight out of ten refs and potentially puts us out of the competition, after all the back-breaking, and at times brilliant work from nine of his outfield colleagues. It’s just unacceptable to have a player like that playing for a team with such high aspirations.
Still, another glorious night for these Reds,they got exactly what they deserved. Studge,Firmino,Milner,Can. Fabulous.
In Klopp we trust. What a fella.
He sends crossing balls to no one.
He put his foot through the ball on shots and sends them up into the 16th row.
He pushes guys over in the box for no good reason at the worst possible moment.
And I love his passion, and his recovery speed, and the little things he does right so much that I forgive him and thank him for being a Red.
I couldn’t have done it better mate. Klopp wants the heart and the head. Can’t question the heart the less said about the head the best I’ll admit but Klopp’s the kinda teacher who teaches dyslexics to write so will Albie learn? What does it say that Klopp plays a left side primarily composed of a sort of footballing idiot-savant and an emotional Brazilian artist who happens to have the physique of a 14 year-old girl? Something Moreno does is right it seems though whatever it is it could be quaintly be described as “rough”.
Oh … and I can’t recall a game I’d honestly give 8.5 or 9 to so many players. Can, Firminho, Lovren, Milner, Studge, Lallana, Clyne, Toure can all have a 9 from me.
Looking forward to th player ratings…
Top piece Neil. Now we have the specialists to unseat After the old enemy, the favourites and the dark horses we finally get to see the elephant. Up the reds.
Boss night again. Sang ourselves hoarse. Intimidated the fuck out of Villareal. Their players can tell their grandchildren they have seen the glory that is Anfield on a European night…then went home. Up the intimidating Reds!
All over ’em like a cheap suit, as Shane Warne would say. We got the swarming start I’d hoped for without expecting, and the goal to cash in on the dominance. Villarreal succeeded in making things scrappy from 20 to half-time, but we were even more intense after the break.
I’m not too sure how this team has managed to reach this stage, but here they are. Here *we* are. Bring on yer Sevilla.
You beautiful beautiful beautiful bastards (in a good way). Can, Milner and Kolo were the bossiest of all bosses bossing the fucking game. Studge, Couts, Bob, Lallana & Co. all inspirational inspiring the Reds to do great things. 10/10 for every player, even Benteke & Allen! Klopp the true conductor, the Boss, the new leader, lets all bow to him. Bring on the final!!!! Great piece Neil. Ill buy you a shit load of beers anytime you beautiful bastard! lol
Show them the way to go home in their yellow submarine. Up the big occasion Reds
Surprisingly apologetic for that performance it feels like Neil. I didn’t read it that way. We wanted it, outworked, outplayed, outfootballed, comprehensively took it.
There was so much to love about this performance. The most Klopp-esque style we have seen over a 90 I think. It didn’t have to be a 6-4 to fall in love with it. It was a three nil twatting.
Firmino such an enigma – not much to shout about outside the box, inside it he’s the ice man, a crucial part of all 3 goals with his intelligence and Luis Garcia-ness.
We’re missing ‘five from Fitzy’. Hope that will be coming up online soon!
He’s helping the police with their enquiries. Harassing a vicars wife, seemingly…
Traducing.
Allegedly.
No, actually Helen sent him to Basel early
Surely we do deserve to get to the final after all those extra games Neil. And after knocking out Dortmund and the Mancs. Otherwise a great piece.
Great birthday present from the men in red. There’s a scouser with a sore head in this small part of Eastern Finland….We were fantastic last night. Old school. We suffocated them. A really professional job. Kolo, Dejan, Emre and Milner were immense.
And thats how you sink a submarine, lads!!!
Look at Kolo indeed, thank God the ref didnt give a pen for Kolo’s challenge in the box at the 5 min mark though!.
Great performance and another Final!!
Loving it, loving it, loving it, !!! so many heroes, Can a Rolls Royce in the making, can’t wait to see him next season after Klopp gives him a proper pre season training!! Milner – he divides opinion but always seems to deliver in the big games!! and Sturridge, Firminho.. what can you say…the turn from Firminho on Soldado!!! I hear the finals capacity is 34,000 with 18,000 corporate tickets, WTF is going on there, what a stitch up!! UP the might reds though, can’t wait for the 18th May!!!!!
Milner and Kolo have won big games (and titles) before, and that experience showed last night.
Can and all others performed maximum level, but Milner and Kolo gave that much needed stability, calmness in the middle. Priceless experience!!
Klopp struggled to find words post match.
Maybe we should all learn German.
Greatest march to the alps since Hannibal
Fantastic night. Thought the atmosphere was brilliant. They’re first mistake was making us turn and play towards The Kop in the first half, as they were then hit by a torrent of gnarly abuse from before kick off when their keeper didn’t acknowledge the applause from The Kop. Although the noise died down after 20 mins, it never went quiet. If anything, no one seemed decide which songs we wanted to sing so there were 2 or 3 going on at the same time!
Oh forgot to say. How shite were their supporters? As the TAW lads said on the preview pod, they just seemed to be their for the experience & our vitriol towards their team made them shrink back from the first whistle. If their team needed help they didn’t get it from the stands
“Shite” is a bit harsh mate….VillaReal is a small club and a small town….you can’t decry anyone as being “shite” for being over awed by Liverpool….not to mention the atmosphere at the stadium.
The only fans you can fairly call “shite’ are Aston Villa supporters.
Everton and United :p
And Chelsea :)
Sturridge went all Marco Tardelli. The magnificent bastard.
I collect LFC T-mugs and some while back decided to only collect cup final ones (as my collection waS expanding and I have little room). Come on, I want a new mug, in fact I want a set from the quarters on. Make my collection LFC. Y.N.W.A
Just been thinking a tick. Started Wednesday night, see I was having a scan done on Thursday one of those kinds where the possibility of having the momentums and meaning of a football game go instantly cold limp and indifferent in the sudden exposing of one’s incoherence and insignificance to the reality of Life and the infinite possibilities offered; often unexpected. By the time I got home full of news that Life isn’t always fair and easy but it’s still capable of a sweetness and beauty and we were already one up. Bittersweet really, I felt like celebrating the experience and yet what did it really mean? Bollocks to that my mom had me “feel the Bern” (she’s still a little bitter about the imperfections of 60s radical Berkley culture) over my suggestion just before the hour that Firmino wasn’t up to snuff and maybe Benteke should get a sniff; “we aim the ball at his tall head” I sagely nodded. When Sturridge latched onto whatever magic it was Bobby had used to put the ball there and every so ungraceful rolling over the line as impudent and inevitable as Daniel”s celebration that crafty woman let me bellow and hollar and then casually inquired if Firmino was in the 11. The cheek! Mum was having a good day, they don’t happen every day anymore but she was all there yesterday all 90 minutes and in the relativity that to each our own subjective experience creates is the gift go and make something seem important be important. That a game of footie remains important is nothing to be ashamed of and that my philosophical musings were so emphatically answered by a German philosopher who a) isn’t dead and 2) espouses the values of a higher volume and the prerequisite increase in pressure…the absolute determination to succeed and the intelligence to apply basic laws of physics to give 11 (well 10 if things are going right to be accurate) the extra power needed by harnessing the electricity of a bubbling roiling red cauldron he’d been able to concoct was while rather long winded still unexpectedly pleasant.
Tops off to the team. José Enrique can get bent but the rest of the lads have done me proud and it’s thrilling to see support with end product. It’s a personal note and a compliment to the Scouse all in one. In America there’s a fairly suspect claim that one should always “Go Big or Go Home” and like most American claims it’s usually best exemplified when not applied at all times but this is Liverpool FC and when we went back to being the Big we used to be they broke like so many big names have before them.
The King isn’t dead but long live the Klopp.
Hope you and mum enjoy on May 18, Matt.
Excellent ending on Go Big!! We definitely are going Big under Klopp leadership. I re watched about ten times the part Klopp (cheer leader) and Fans connected after the match in the stadium.