#this is a continuation of what happened after we beat barca in the semis

[doux-amer]

What a day. What a brilliant day. I’m over the moon. I never experienced euphoria with strangers the way I did here (well, maybe WC ‘02 before dawn/early in the morning in Queens with Koreans). @atlasblue85 and I went to Carragher’s a little before noon but ended up going to a bar down the block because it was impossible to get in. It ended up being worth it because I’ve only been to a bar once for a sports event (it was also a Champions League match) and it was awkward being the only girl in the entire place in the middle of the day with this guy shouting sexist remarks at the screen. :/ But the crowd was so good! I mean, I wish we had more originality than singing “Allez, allez, allez” five thousand times (I’m starting to hate this song...please, we have more originality than that! We have loads of great songs!), but still!

This is the first time I ever got to watch a match with a crowd that wasn’t at a stadium and omg it’s such a great feeling just SCREAMING. I’m mostly a silent watcher although I’ve become better at vocalizing myself and not feeling weird about it, but I yelled and clapped. That sort of unity is so amazing. AND ORIGI’S GOAL? KIM AND I LEAPT OUT OF OUR SEATS AND SCREAMED AS THE BAR BROKE OUT IN PANDEMONIUM AND WE JUST LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND NEEDED TO HUG AND THEN THE MIDDLE-AGED MAN WHO SAT NEXT TO US (WHO CAME WITH HIS GROWN DAUGHTER...GIRLFRIEND? WHO KNOWS) WHO ALSO REACTED THE SAME WAY OPENED HIS ARMS AND WE HUGGED HIM IN TURN. I HUGGED A RANDOM STRANGER BECAUSE I WAS SO OVERCOME WITH EMOTIONS. I’VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. AND JUST. IT DIDN’T MATTER! I DON’T KNOW WHO HE IS! HE DOESN’T KNOW WHO I AM! BUT WE LOVE OUR CLUB SO MUCH! KIM AND I DON’T KNOW WHO HE IS, BUT HE’S OUR CL ‘19 FINAL DAD NOW!!!!!!!

And I teared up!??!?!? FKDSLJFDLKSJFSDA KIM, SOME OF MY FRIENDS WHO’VE KNOWN ME FOR 2+ DECADES HAVEN’T SEEN ME CRY, BUT LOOK. I complained towards the end because this match was terrible. Both sides didn’t look like they wanted to win even though they should have wanted it desperately as Tottenham never even made it to a CL final before and Liverpool hasn’t won it in 14 years. Only Dele and Sonny tried on their side, and idk...I feel like it was just Sadio (and maybe Trent and Robbo in the first half) who really, really tried. It just felt like they were playing it safe and instead of trying to be selfish and take shots at the goal, they kept passing to the others while being incapable of completing passes (STOP! PASSING! TO! THE! OPPOSITION! OR! TO! EMPTY! SPACES! OR! TO! TEAMMATES! WHO! CAN’T! DO! ANYTHING! FROM! WHERE! THEY! ARE!) or mucking up their last touches in the other half.

I seriously didn’t know what I would’ve done if we won by Mo’s penalty because I know people would’ve discounted our win and I’m not sure any of us, fans or players alike, would’ve really had it in ourselves to celebrate deliriously. lakdsjfsjfldasfjdsa Kim and I were like “ORIGI, SAVE US” and he did. HE DID. KING OF SAVING LIVERPOOL. AND OF COURSE LIVERPOOL HAD TO GET A (TRUE) WINNING GOAL IN THE LAST FIVE MINUTES OF REGULAR TIME LIKE!!! WHY TF ARE WE SO DRAMATIC AS ALWAYS?! THIS IS WHEN I REMIND YOU THAT WE SCORED THE MOST GOALS (33) AT FULL-TIME OR EXTRA TIME IN THE PL. LIKE!!!!!!! PLEASE, DO WE KNOW HOW TO EXIST ANY OTHER WAY? Anyway, that goal summed up our 2018/19 season.

I’m so glad we won it this year too because lmaooo the petty happiness I felt that it happened in Madrid after it happened last year (and Kim and I agreed that we kind of didn’t want it to happen last year anyway because it felt like the beginning, like we weren’t there yet and we didn’t want it to feel premature if that makes sense). And just....it’s a story about how, even if you fail the first time and you’re devastated, you can pick yourself up and try again. Even if things aren’t going your way when you do, you never give up!!!

AND OMG WE DECIDED TO HEAD OVER TO CARRAGHER’S AFTERWARDS AND WE WERE BLOCKING THE ENTIRE STREET SO THAT CARS, TRUCKS, AND CYCLISTS HAD TO INCH FORWARD LSDFJALFJA. BUT THEY WERE SO HAPPY, HONKING, SMILING, WAVING AT US, AND SOMETIMES EVEN WAVING FLAGS/RED SHIRTS/WHATEVER. I LOVE YOU, NY. I LOVE YOU, STRANGERS. I LOVE YOU, FELLOW FANS. ALSO, I’M FOREVER MAD THAT I WAS TOO SHY TO ASK TRENT’S FAMILY IF I COULD TAKE PICS WITH THEM INSTEAD OF JUST TAKING PICS OF THEM. AT LEAST I GOT TO SPEND SOME TIME NEAR THEM, BUT GODDDDD, TRENT IS MY SON. MY CHILD. OUR FUTURE CAPTAIN. OUR BOY!!! BABY!!!!!! I LOVE HIM!!!!!!!! 

I LOVE ALL OUR BOYS! I TEARED UP AT ORIGI’S GOAL AND THEN WHEN THE BOYS RAN ONTO THE PITCH AT THE WHISTLE THAT NONE OF US COULD HEAR BECAUSE WE WERE TOO LOUD IN THE BAR AND THEN WHEN I HAD TO CHOKE OUT AN “OH MY GOD” AT THEM ENGRAVING THE TROPHY WITH LIVERPOOL’S NAME ON IT. I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT I SAW THAT WITH MY OWN TWO EYES. I CAN’T BELIEVE IT????? FOURTEEN GODDAMN LONG YEARS. AND WE’RE HERE NOW. WE’RE HERE NOW. 

AND OH MY GOD WHEN JORDAN LIFTED UP THE TROPHY AND WE ALL DID THE “EHHHHHHHH.....EYYYY!!!!” SHOUT AND I DOUBLE-FISTED THE AIR AND OH MY GOD, THEY ALL DESERVE IT, BUT MY BOY JORDAN....AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. AFTER ALMOST CLOSE TO A DECADE WITH US. AFTER SUFFERING THROUGH THE DARK, BLEAK TIMES, BEING ONE OF THE LAST ONES REMAINING FROM THAT PRE-KLOPP ERA. IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. IT MADE THIS ALL THE SWEETER. 

YNWA!!! Y. N. W. A. I LOVE YOU ALL! 

[torentialtribute]

Miracles by Liverpool and Spurs remind us why so many love football

It was one of the greatest weeks in the history of English football. Liverpool and Spurs fought miraculous battles to secure a place in the Champions League final in Madrid

ROB DRAPER was with Anfield and then the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam to capture the essence of an exciting double header for the UEFA elite competition

Here are his memories of two nights which I think he loves the beautiful game that echoes all over the world.

<img id = "i-f9653ddb2d3acb79" src = "https://dailym.ai/30ctsHs image-a-2_1557607014128.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt ="

[Lucas] Moura holds onto the match ball after scoring a hat trick in a wonderful victory of Spurs over Ajax <img id = "i-f9653ddb2d3acb79" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Vlfy1P" height = "423" width = " 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-f9653ddb2d3acb79" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Vlfy1P "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Lucas Moura holds onto the match ball after having won a hat trick in a beautiful victory of Spurs over Ajax "- win a beautiful victory of Spurs over Ajax

It is around midnight on a Tuesday night and a group of young women, dressed in expensive dresses, are enjoying the evening out. They make their way past Liverpool Lime Street Station, led by a slender woman in her late teens.

& # 39; Allez! Allez! Allez! & # 39; she roars.

Her companions join the chorus. & # 39; Allez! Allez! Allez! & # 39;

Up the road, the 917 bus returns from Anfield to the city center.

They stamp their feet and sing: & # 39; We have conquered the whole of Europe! We will never stop! From Paris to Turkey! We have won the f ** king lot! & # 39;

Their stamps and the rising excitement shake the bus and alert the driver. & # 39; If you don't stop stamping, I won't continue the journey & # 39; I have deadpans everywhere in the irritated monotonous civil service. Apologies are offered. Promises are made to stop the stamping. But the number is resumed. & # 39; Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly! The Fields of Anfield Road! We are loyal supporters! And we are from Liverpool! "

& # 39; In the streets, strangers hug themselves and remind themselves of everything they've seen and everything they've felt. & # 39; What about that! & # 39;

This city has seen almost everything that football has to offer – it has a precursor to the highs and lows – but on Tuesday it experienced something extraordinary – something very blinding and uplifting that not only the city but the whole

<img id = "i-be178775451ac471" src = "https://dailym.ai/30cttLw image-a-3_1557607149726.jpg "height =" 414 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-be178775451ac471" src = "https://dailym.ai/2J2OwKp /11/21/13384002-0-image-a-3_1557607149726.jpg "height =" 414 "width =" 634 "alt =" Liverpool back Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrates after Liverpool beat Barcelona with 4-0 "Arnold celebrates after Liverpool defeated Barcelona 4-0 "

Liverpo ol right back Trent Alexander-Arnold fourth after Liverpool defeated Barcelona 4-0

The story had begun five hours earlier than football fans gathered at Anfield to convince themselves that despite all evidence of on the contrary, their team could emerge victorious. Fans are like this: it is a ritual they undergo before a match starts … a process of convincing themselves that even if all hope seems lost, there is still a point … still a chance.

It is modern folklore and an appeal to blind superstition. They delve into the history of the tribe to support the false sense of confidence. They tell about a semi-final that they played dramatically in 1977 and won against Saint-Etienne, the first year that Liverpool captured the European Cup.

And the semi-final against Chelsea in 2005. Of course, they talk about Istanbul that same year, and the last time Liverpool somehow won the final of the Champions League after being mid-3- 0 had been to mighty AC Milan.

What they are not talking about is how improbable victory against Barcelona. Liverpool is an exceptional side, but in the 3-0 match they go to the best club of the last decade with the biggest live soccer player under their number. Oh, and Liverpool miss their best player and move forward. The opening to the most famous song by Gerry Marsden is eerily abrupt. & # 39; If you walk … & # 39; he sings, acapella, waiting for the piano and the guitar. At Anfield they need that right away. They pick up the song from the first beat, this sentimental music hall from another century that grabs you and shakes you until you shiver.

Barcelona fans are also taking part. English football, this song and Anfield remain a touchstone among foreign fans. & # 39; Continue! & # 39; they sing & # 39; Walk on! With hope in your heart! And you will never walk alone! You will never walk alone.

<img id = "i-34829cae67c4242b" src = "https://dailym.ai/2VdpXgh -5_1557607296085.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-34829cae67c4242b" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Hf9XXn 21 / 13384036-0-image-a-5_1557607296085.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Liverpool fans play their part with remarkable support during a memorable evening at Anfield.

Liverpool fans play their role with remarkable support during a memorable night in Anfield a memorable night in Anfield

It awakens the senses and generates more false hope. This game was lost a week earlier in Barcelona, ​​but we must behave as if it were not. Then Liverpool scores and we can stop a bit longer.

The volume is extraordinary with Anfield. The ground literally vibrates. But it is not so much the sound that you unconsciously capture and stimulate this Tuesday evening. It is more the roar of collective hope that you turn sideways, through which adrenaline flows through you.

And so until the second half, two goals from Gini Wijnaldum, making it 3-3 on total. Now everyone believes. Then there is Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose corner for the deciding fourth remains a wonderful day after the event.

& # 39; It was just instinctive & # 39 ;, he says later that evening, looking exceptionally good, given what happened. & # 39; I just walked away, looked back and saw that they were eliminated and Div [Origi] was only in the middle of the goal … and I hit it. It is unbelievable that he has just responded to the ball and disposed of it.

<img id = "i-d55e4943f02e43a7" src = "https://dailym.ai/305dr5Y -19_1557609348819.jpg "height =" 458 "width =" 634 "alt =" Gini Wijnaldum (right) shouts with pleasure after scoring Liverpool & # 39; s third goal on Tuesday evening "class = Gini Wijnaldum (right) screams with pleasure after scoring Liverpool & # 39; s third goal on Tuesday evening

Gini Wijnaldum (right) screams with pleasure after scoring it Liverpool's third goal on Tuesday night

Alexander-Arnold pauses. & # 39; I would probably have been called if it never came true. But it was worth the risk, & he adds.

At the age of 20, Alexander-Arnold is young enough to become a relapse into childhood. He is shy, but also playful and cheeky.

In the 79th minute of the game, he performs the kind of movement that we all tried to catch the kids in the playground trying to catch our classmates while contesting a decision with an imaginary referee. Alexander-Arnold happens to play against Barcelona in the semifinals of the Champions League.

As the roar encircles the ground, Lionel Messi waits in the center circle, hangs his shoulders, and shakes his head with contempt for his teammates

<img id = "i -63cf8bc3fc8c06f2 "src =" https://dailym.ai/2VjR3SW "height =" 421 "width =" 634 " alt = "<img id =" i-63cf8bc3fc8c06f2 "src =" https://dailym.ai/2VjR3SW "height = "421" width = "634" alt = "<img id =" i-63cf8bc3fc8c06f2 "src =" https://dailym.ai/30ctwqG image-a-6_1557607375369.jpg "height =" 421 "width =" 634 "alt =" Lionel Messi looks depressed when Barcelona looks like a man from Barcelona

Lionel Messi looks depressed as Barcelona being lashed and beaten from Europe in Anfield

Lionel Messi looks downcast when Barcelona is shot down in Anfield and beaten from Europe

It is the privilege of this job to see how Messi so often defies the limits of this game. For two years, when he was 18 and 19, I lived in Barcelona and saw him play at Camp Nou every week. Maybe it was because my first child was born at the time, but it felt good to be alive and to look at this teenager. And this was in a Barcelona team, before Pep Guardiola, that won nothing.

So often he is delighted. That's how it was in the first leg. He took a game in which Liverpool was superior and made that fact meaningless.

He is 31. Do not really behave unless you are a professional athlete. Messi stopped running in the second half. I simply couldn't keep up. The intensity was beyond him.

When his shoulders drop and his head falls down, that is a terrible sign. I've seen it before and it happened in Anfield. He turned around the center circle, an observer willing to do his bit if only the team could get the ball to him. But I had stopped defending, stopped pressing.

The game ends with Liverpool having taken no backward step; mentally or physically. There is a danger within that of Liverpool that is limited only to those who have more heart and soul. For the record, Liverpool has driven 69.6 miles to Barca & 65 miles.

The game was about much more than that: part of passing Liverpool from the back was clear and agile as we have seen. Yet it is quite difficult to compete if your field players run about half a mile less than their opposite numbers in less than 90 minutes.

<img id = "i-d4494418867c0fcd" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Vj7K0P -0-image-a-7_1557607502864.jpg "height =" 330 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-d4494418867c0fcd" src = "https://dailym.ai/2CYdfvj 2019/05/11/21 / 13384030-0-image-a-7_1557607502864.jpg "height =" 330 "width =" 634 "alt =" Liverpool players stand in line in front of the Cup while celebrating their victory with Reds fans

Liverpool players stand in line for the Cup while standing in line for the Cup while celebrating their victory with Reds fans celebrating their victory with Reds -fans

After the game, players filter in the dressing room and happily celebrate their way. Jordan Henderson, leading the singing of & # 39; Allez, Allez, Allez! & # 39;

But the crowd remains. And Alexander-Arnold, born in Liverpool, built the suburb of the city, West Derby, standing alone for the Kop. All these players are of course natural. But Alexander-Arnold?

Perhaps he is slightly more special, such as Phil Thompson, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard for him. Alexander-Arnold does not want to leave. He is only 20, but he must have felt that these moments can pass too quickly. So he stands and welcomes the Cup.

And they naturally cheer exuberantly in return. And Alexander-Arnold walks slowly through the stadium, past the Sir Kenny Dalglish grandstand and the Anfield Road End, recognizing his own people and drinking at every moment of a special night: a boy weaned in Saint-Etienne, Chelsea and Istanbul,

& # 39; I was just trying to tell the fans that we couldn't do without them and that it's up to them that these magical nights happen. & # 39;

<img id = "i-1acb54f6c7ab9275" src = "https://dailym.ai/30ctxuK Liverpool_s_Trent_Alexander_Arnold_tries_to_take_in_what_has_jus-a-13_1557301823732.jpg "height =" 357 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-1acb54f6c7ab9275" src = "https://dailym.ai/2GW1CHV /08/08/13233626-7005009-Liverpool_s_Trent_Alexander_Arnold_tries_to_take_in_what_has_jus-a-13_1557301823732.jpg "height =" 357 "width =" 634 "alt =" Alexander-Arnold is trying to take what has just unfolded while sitting in the Anfield dressing room. Arnold tries to record what he has just unfolded while sitting in Anfield's dressing room. "

Alexander-Arnold tries to take what has just been released while he is sitting in the dressing room of Anfield

On a train to London the following morning, the discussion goes on whether this was the best Liverpool team ever – on the morning after a night like that, successful games must be ranked.

At St Pancras Station, the mood is different, this is the best ever, at Anfield At least, they decide. Tottenham fans stand in line for their Eurostar to Amsterdam, they are excited, expectant, and unlike Liverpool, this is a virgin territory for them. have been the semi-finals of this competition with their best team ever.You should have a vague memory.

In small groups they discuss the events of the night before, of course it gives them hope. from the first at stage 1-0 of Ajax, but in contrast to the task of Liverpool, this does not look hopeless.

Cans of beer are burst open. It is finally 11 o'clock. Enough time to drink to Amsterdam. An over-enthusiastic fan on the phone announces at top volume in the style of Dom Joly, at every intermediate station: & WE WILL ONLY ENTER BRUSSELS! & # 39; and then & # 39; WE DRAW IN ANTWERP. WE WILL BE WITH YOU IN AN HOURS! & # 39;

Tottenham has less reason than Liverpool to be anxious.

Their journey has seen them cross swords equivalent to Bayern Munich and humiliate Real Madrid and Juventus. They are a return to 1995, when the Dutch club won this competition with a team formed by Louis van Gaal, at its peak. They have turned modern football upside down and confused the elite. This is Amsterdam, the walk to the Johan Cruyff Arena has that slightly sickly scent of marijuana. But there is no air of relaxed geniuses that you associate with that scent at a music festival.

Police sirens sound. A group of Tottenham fans are locked up in their rival restaurant groups of Dutch fans fighting outside. Secret police, casually dressed, not like the hooligans they are trying to capture, suddenly reveal lipstick and begin to arrest perpetrators. There is a visceral aggression in the anticipation.

Just like Anfield the night before, the stadium shakes fairly well with noise. It is a cliché to say that football stadiums have become our modern cathedral. They are more like a slightly sinister political rally: fans like to be manipulated into a choreographed display of extraordinary emotions. Songs are sung, flags are waved and the noise is overwhelming. It works however. Ajax flies out of the blocks, Tottenham capitulates.

Matthijs de Ligt comes up

Harry Kane is angry. He was not even on the field.

Another season is slipping away for Tottenham without any chance of a trophy.

Terrible in the first half against Ajax on the new White Hart Lane, they may be even worse here in the opening of 45 minutes here. what he should do.

& # 39; Harry is mentally affected & # 39 ;, Kieran Trippier remembers later. & # 39; Is this how you want to be remembered? After all we have experienced this season! ?

& # 39; We are laughing about it now, but not then & # 39 ;, says Trippier. & # 39; He did not go language [in terms of] people sort out. He was frustrated and right. He was clearly not playing and he had loved but we knew he could do better, so much better. "

Indeed. The party had lost five of its previous six games. And scored a goal in five games since defeating Manchester City to reach this stage. That victory, extraordinary in its own way, seemed to be his Harry Kane is celebrating the season and sucked all the energy away from them.

… but he was not at all happy when Spurs trailed 2-0 " Harry Kane celebrates match after game … but he was not at all happy when Spurs trailed 2-0

Tottenham is in the second half on the field in the Johan Cruyff Arena, Kane said his piece, waiting aimlessly, bobbing up and down , chat with each other. But there is no trace of their opponents.

They wait two or three minutes, highly unusual in these choreographed matters. An element of gamesmanship is on the way. Suddenly the famous opening tones of Bob Marley & # 39; s Three Little Birds lit up and the Ajax team appeared.

& # 39; Do not Worry … about a thing is this white-white crowd of throbbing Jamaican beat. & # 39; Because every little thing will be alright. & # 39;

This is the anthem of Ajax. The game starts, but the song continues without the backing track, 52,000 people sing: & # 39; Get up this morning, laugh with the rising sun, three little birds, pitch at my door … & # 39; It's a stunning sound, Anfield's match the night before, topped with hope and tranquility, which frankly seems inappropriate. Maybe they wanted to send a message to their young players.

Listening to Ajax fans singing the three little birds of Bob Marley before qualifying for a Champions League final after 24 years is what it's all about. you better see it today.

work. The first rocket that hits the coffin lands on Mark Ogden, a journalist who works for ESPN. It falls square on the back of the head.

Fortunately for him, it is a plastic glass, but now we are all steeped in beer. The laptop of the man from The Daily Telegraph, who is sitting in front of him, is drenched and disrupted, which is small with 25 minutes left to play and the London office awaiting his report.

More

While the beer bottle attack continues, Lucas is a young man who has a lot of fun. Moura scores twice, the second an excellent demonstration of close technique and footwork to make his way past defenders and leave a clean shot behind.

Moura was thrown away by Qatari-supported Paris Saint-Germain last year to pay the wages of Neymar, whose main contribution to this year's tournament was to banish three games for abusing an official on Instagram when his team went out in the last sixteen.

The goals of Moura came in the 55th and 59 minutes, almost an irror picture of the timing of Liverpool & # 39; s two quick second-half goals from Wijnaldum on Tuesday night.

Now those Ajax fans have to worry. Beer nestles on computer screens and seeps into the keyboards. The smell of old too expensive beer and testosterone fills the air. It is the smell of a football audience that gets ugly.

<img id = "i-d65dc4adaadbe8e8" src = "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/11/21/13384416 -0-image-a-11_1557608274474.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Lucas appears stunningly close

Lucas shows astonishing close control and footwork to track 2-2 in Amsterdam and footwork to raise Spurs level at 2-2 in Amsterdam "

Lucas shows stunning close control and footwork to raise Spurs level at 2-2 in Amsterdam

it seems that the game will soon be for Tottenham. It is almost over. Their glorious comeback is ultimately nothing but a pointless 2-2 draw – a heartbreaking end to the goal. The referee indicates five minutes of the added time.

Four minutes and thirty-eight seconds of that are shown when the ball is sent to half of Tottenham. In the press box, journalists send their latest copy to newspapers around the world on Spurs & Brave but fruitless combat. A goal kick is taken, the ball is cleared and fought then finds its way to the feet of Moussa Sissoko, who is deep in his own half.

It is the silence that touches you. The stadium bounces and cacophony in celebration; the next it is completely silent. It goes beyond the lack of sound. It is the sound of hope that is sucked from the souls of thousands of people, as one of the mythical dementors of JK Rowling has appeared.

The press box is generally a neutral place. Responses are kept to a minimum. But someone shouts: & # 39; He did it … he did it! & # 39;

There is a distant echo in the midst of silence. The fans are deliberately placed so high in a corner that they are difficult to hear or influence the game. Now there is a vague roar from there and, in the corner, a stack of Spurs players on top of Moura. He has earned a hat trick. On the sidelines, Eric Dier, an unused Tottenham replacement, manager Mauricio Pochettino in a manic dance of joy, grasps their faces in a mix of shock and unbelieving joy.

<img id = "i-e3f6d9e5819e4cf5" src = "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/11/22/13384510-0- image-a-12_1557608578318.jpg "height =" 634 "width =" 634 "alt =" Manager Mauricio Pochettino (right) stares in the eyes of Eric Dier as the duo-hug Tottenham "(right) stares in the eyes of Eric Animal as the duo hug Tottenham "

Manager Mauricio Pochettino (right) stares in the eyes of Eric Dier as the Tottenham duo hug

Twitter is a cesspool, a public demonstration of our worst instincts, but also, occasionally some of our best.

Their responses to Moura & # 39; s goal are, if you don't understand football, worryingly hysterical, such as one or another primal ceremony. They growl and scream. Nobody has control. Adults hit the floor like toddlers. They run around manically. One struggles his partner on the ground.

This feeling was w at Bill Shankly, who built Liverpool FC, when he made his famous joke about life, death and football. There are both men and women regardless of gender. But you can't help noticing that most are still men. Men who might find it difficult to show emotions in a different context do most of us. So what's this with this stupid game that makes this release of social norms possible? Is this a relapse to being in a tribe? A desperate need to belong to something more important?

How does it feel, people who are not sports fans sometimes ask? It feels like you're alive. More alive than ever before. That shot of adrenaline and joy is hard to copy. Perhaps the birth of a child surpasses the height of a love affair in a wedding or similar ceremony. Not doing much else.

<img id = "i-f6c6ed9888088e24" src = "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/11/22/13384738-0- image-a-18_1557609297057.jpg "height =" 595 "width =" 634 "alt =" Lucas is lying flat on his back after the last whistle blows in Amsterdam on Wednesday evening "his back after the last whistle blows in Amsterdam on Wednesday night"

Lucas lies flat on his back after the last whistle blows in Amsterdam on Wednesday evening

At the end of all this, Moura is interviewed by Portuguese television and plays it to him comment from his third goal.

The interviewer fixes him with a glance and says nothing The camera moves in his face Now the tears are flowing I try to wipe them out and keep going He is lost for words.

Pochettino is also sobbing.

I want to remember my family , & # 39; he says, his voice creaking like an Oscar. winner. & # 39; It's great for them too. Thank you football. Without football, I think it's impossible to live. "

Kane is standing nearby. He is now happier, sagging grin on his face. He doesn't want to be interviewed because others are earning more. But he stops joking about sprinting over the field to make it at the end, it seems that his damaged ankle ligaments have survived. Will I come back for the finals?

& # 39; I hope so, & he replies confidently.

<img id = "i-5ddb97b3a451af22" src = "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/11/22/13269238-0-Tottenham_striker_Harry_Kane_is_hopeful_of_being_fit_for_the_Cha6087-1343434343434343 "height =" 356 "width =" 632 "alt =" Tottenham star Kane is hopeful to be fit for the Champions League final in Madrid on June 1 "

<img id =" i-5ddb97b3a451af22 " src = "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/11/22/13269238-0-Tottenham_striker_Harry_Kane_is_hopeful_of_being_fit_for_the_Cha-a-13_1557608737743.jpg" height = "356" width = "632" alt = "Tottenham star Kane is hopeful to be fit for the Champions League final in Madrid on June 1 "class =" blkBorder "

As a football fan, you are a football fan, you are a football fan , you are a fan of closing a deal. You commit yourself to the result, that at that moment almost everything goes beyond; gamble with your emotions. If you lose, it is desperate and the hangover incomprehensible.

But if you win? That euphoric high is legally difficult to replicate. That must be the reason why we do it. We want to be happy and share that happiness with someone.

Amidst all the corruption and crookedness of the field, the diving and omission of it, the cynicism and soullessness and the really bad screams for money that the game

Like an echo of a pure youth game we thought we had forgotten, it is like a divine moment of fellowship.

While Alexander-Arnold completed that solitary round of honor on Tuesday evening, I approached the area where the Barcelona fans were housed. He initially seemed hesitant and didn't want goad fans at their lowest point. He applauded them carefully.

And before a man and a woman, they stood up and repaid, and saw the scale of the display of this young man and that of his teammates. There was immense dignity and mutual respect at the time. And to a certain extent.

In the midst of tribalism that supports and infects football, there is a common humanity that can bind people even in the sharpest disappointments. After all, it's just a game. Bill Shankly, despite his most famous quote, would certainly agree.

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Resurgent Messi, the impassable wall & maverick Dembele - Chelsea's Barca challenge

Champions League last 16: Chelsea v Barcelona Venue: Stamford Bridge Date: Tuesday, 20 February Kick-off: 19:45 GMT Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC Sport website

It’s nearly 16 months since Barcelona last faced English opposition, and a lot has changed at the Spanish giants since their emphatic 3-1 defeat at Manchester City[1] in November 2016.

That defeat offered an accurate representation of Barca’s strengths and weaknesses at the time – they produced some sparkling attacking football to take the lead but were ultimately undone by a lack of defensive structure that allowed City to run riot in the second half.

Those deficiencies meant then manager Luis Enrique endured a disappointing final season in charge, with his side surrendering the Spanish title to Real Madrid and exiting the Champions League in the quarter-finals.

But that all feels a long time ago, with the new and improved Barca vintage, under Ernesto Valverde, determinedly hunting down another league, cup and European treble.

They may not be producing the same kind of flowing football as in the Pep Guardiola era, but – as they prepare for Tuesday’s Champions League visit to Chelsea – they are looking good. Very good.

Is Messi’s Chelsea drought due to end?

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Chelsea fans could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about when it comes to Lionel Messi, because the Argentine has failed to score in any of his eight previous games against the London club – the most he’s played against any team without scoring.

In fact, the last meeting between the teams resulted in one of Messi’s greatest personal disappointments as he missed a crucial penalty in the second leg of the 2012 semi-final at the Nou Camp, with the Blues going on to win the competition in Munich.[2][3]

Messi also has a poor record against Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who went six games without conceding against the Barca talisman during his final season with Atletico Madrid in 2013-14 – a campaign that ended with Atletico beating Barca to the title[4] on the last day of the season and knocking them out of the Champions League.

But surely records like that are only meant to be broken by players with the quality of Messi, who is heading into this week’s game in fabulous form having already scored 30 goals in all competitions this season.

Not only is Messi the top scorer in La Liga – his 20 goals helping his team establish a seven-point lead – but he’s also first in the assists charts with 11 goals created – mostly for Luis Suarez.

The only opponent capable of stopping Messi, it sometimes seems, is the woodwork – he has hit the post or crossbar 15 times. So perhaps Courtois can call upon the help of an extra ‘defender’.

Stopping Alba will help

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The departure of Neymar to Paris St-Germain[5] necessitated a tactical change, and Valverde has settled on a 4-4-2 formation.

It allows Messi – for the first time in his career, really – to play as a traditional number 10 behind centre-forward Luis Suarez. It is a role known as the ‘enganche’ in Argentine football.

The main beneficiary of Neymar’s departure and the subsequent change in formation is left-back Jordi Alba, who had a drastic dip in form last season to the extent he was often omitted from the starting line-up.

The absence of Neymar created a gap on the left wing, and Alba has filled it superbly – especially in his understanding with Messi, who routinely delivers angled passes over the opposition defence into the path of Alba, then looks for return passes.

Barcelona’s 5-0 cup thrashing of Celta Vigo[6] last month provided a particularly vivid demonstration of their almost telepathic understanding: the first two goals were scored by Messi after passes from Alba, who then netted the third after benefiting from Messi’s glorious assist.

Alba has been credited with eight assists so far this season, and seven of those have been for Messi, making it clear just how potent their partnership has become.

The opposing left-back might not seem like the most obvious attacking threat for Chelsea to contain, but Alba’s endless reserves of energy allow him to effectively play as a winger and a full-back at the same time, and it will be essential for the Blues to cut out his exchanges with Messi.

Umtiti key to ‘impassable wall’

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During the second half of Barca’s cup victory over Valencia[7] earlier this month, one player’s name was chanted long and loud by the Nou Camp faithful.

Not Messi. Not Suarez. Not even a homegrown favourite such as Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets or Sergi Roberto.

Instead, the man being saluted was defensive lynchpin Samuel Umtiti, who was turning in yet another impeccable performance alongside Gerard Pique, brushing off Valencia’s forwards with disdainful ease.

France centre-back Umtiti, who was signed from Lyon in 2016, has finally succeeded where many others have failed in becoming a convincing long-term replacement for former skipper Carles Puyol, and his emergence was a key factor behind Javier Mascherano’s departure to China[8] last month.

Another individual to shine is goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, an agile shot-stopper whose hugely confident ability with the ball at his feet makes compatriot Manuel Neuer look clumsy by comparison.

The consistency of Umtiti and Ter Stegen, the continued excellence of Pique, and a much stronger overall structure have allowed Barca to enjoy a superb campaign defensively. They have conceded only 11 goals in 24 league games – keeping seven clean sheets in their past 10 outings – and let in just one in their six Champions League group games.

Respected journalist Albert Masnou, who writes for Barcelona-based newspaper Sport, recently claimed the team’s new-found defensive dominance is the biggest key to their success this season.

“The front pages are usually given to those who score goals,” Masnou wrote. “But for the key to Barcelona’s situation you have to look in defence. Valverde has succeeded in turning his defence into an impassable wall.”

Understated Valverde on record-breaking pace

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The man responsible for overseeing Barca’s outstanding campaign is Valverde, who was recruited from Athletic Bilbao[9] in the summer.

The former Barca forward – he played alongside Gary Lineker at the Nou Camp – is a calm and softly spoken individual, whose appointment was initially met with a degree of scepticism. But he has quickly become a hugely respected figure among Barca fans.

The most notable aspect of Valverde’s achievements has been his ability to instil greater balance between defence and attack. Last season they sometimes looked like eight players defending plus ‘MSN’ (Messi, Suarez, Neymar) attacking. Now Barca function as a coherent collective all over the pitch.

Valverde’s game management and use of substitutions has also been outstanding, evidenced by a remarkable record in the second halves of games – since the opening day of the league campaign, Barca have scored 61 goals after the break and conceded just seven.

Suarez told Sport: “The coach knows how to read the games well and we adapt ourselves to what happens on the pitch and the circumstances of play.”

Valverde has also been praised by club legend Xavi.

“The team has regathered itself and that’s much to the merit of Valverde,” he said in an interview with Radio Monte Carlo. “He has done an extraordinary job and given the team an identity.”

The results speak for themselves. Saturday’s 2-0 win at Eibar[10] meant Valverde’s squad equalled the record set by Guardiola’s team in 2010-11 by going 31 league games unbeaten.

Guardiola, of course, went on to complete the treble that season. With his team already through to the Copa del Rey final and cruising in La Liga, Valverde has his sights set on the same objective.

Dembele could have X-factor

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Barring injuries, 10 members of Valverde’s starting XI at Stamford Bridge are set in stone: Ter Stegen will be in goal behind Alba, Pique, Umtiti and Roberto; the midfield will contain Busquets, Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, and Messi will partner Suarez up front.

The identity of the other player in midfield, however, is not certain.

Former Tottenham man Paulinho is favourite, especially for the away leg, with his physical power and defensive attributes edging him ahead of more attacking options such as Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez and outsider Aleix Vidal.

Philippe Coutinho is cup-tied after playing for Liverpool in the group stage, but the club’s other mega-money signing, Ousmane Dembele, is available after recovering from a hamstring injury.

France winger Dembele has had a hugely frustrating season since his £135.5m summer move from Borussia Dortmund,[11] only completing 290 minutes of action because of injuries.

On his rare outings, Dembele has looked out of place, clearly not yet in sync with his team-mates’ methods and looking equally likely to beat two defenders with an electrifying burst or give the ball away with a badly misplaced pass.

In a largely predictable set-up, however, Dembele has a big role in the next few months, using his pace and dribbling ability to create something out of nothing and destabilise opposing defences.

Not even Dembele’s team-mates know what he’ll do next, never mind the opposition, and although he will almost certainly be restricted to the bench at Stamford Bridge, he remains a tantalising option to provide a dynamic attacking spark – if it is needed.

References

^ 3-1 defeat at Manchester City (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ second leg of the 2012 semi-final (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ win the competition in Munich. (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Atletico beating Barca to the title (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Neymar to Paris St-Germain (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Barcelona’s 5-0 cup thrashing of Celta Vigo (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Barca’s cup victory over Valencia (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Javier Mascherano’s departure to China (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ recruited from Athletic Bilbao (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Saturday’s 2-0 win at Eibar (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ £135.5m summer move from Borussia Dortmund, (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

Resurgent Messi, the impassable wall & maverick Dembele – Chelsea's Barca challenge was originally published on 365 Football