At a packed Anfield on that floodlit night not two weeks ago, before anybody knew Liverpool’s tumultuous 3-2 defeat by Atlético Madrid would be England’s last major football match for a very long time, it was – in sporting terms – a privilege to be there. It was genuinely a great European night, at a ground and club whose very essence is celebrating great European nights, stretching back decades to Bill Shankly’s great rebuilding. That night, before Boris Johnson’s government finally decided “mass gatherings” were no longer so safe in the Covid-19 pandemic, dazzled visitors were as ever taking selfies by the statue of Shankly, with its winning inscription: “He made the people happy.”
Whether it was quite such a privilege to be there in health terms is a question a growing number of Liverpool supporters have been asking. If an inquiry is held in future into the government’s handling of this crisis, it must surely ask how a mega-event, bringing 54,000 people into the old atmospheric streets, pubs, bars, shops, chippies and stadium, with 3,000 from Madrid, was allowed to go ahead at that time.
The chance of winning back to back Champions League titles is over for Liverpool. The Reds were eliminated from the Champions League with a 3-2 loss to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their round of 16 tie on Wednesday at Anfield.
After losing the first leg, 1-0, in Spain, Liverpool finished regulation of the second leg up 1-0 to force extra time. Atletico Madrid got two goals from substitute Marcos Llorente in the first period of extra time to advance 4-2 on aggregate and send the reigning champs packing in a stunning result.
The Reds were without superstar goalkeeper Alisson due to a hip injury, and backup Adrian struggled, giving away the first goal with a poor clearance before getting beat too easily on the second. On the other side, Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak was one of the heroes of the night, making a number of crucial saves to help his team move on.
