Football news - The Warm-Up: An infamous night at Anfield
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Updated 12/03/2020 at 09:06 GMT
Liverpool stunned at home while PSG make smooth progress? Apparently we live in Opposite World
van Dijk - Liverpool-Atlético Madrid - Champions League 2019/2020 - Getty Images
Image credit: Getty Images
THURSDAY’S BIG STORIES
Liverpool are out!
We start with the game that actually had a crowd, which meant noise, which meant it felt like a football match. Although in truth, this probably should have taken place in an empty stadium as well. Madrid’s under coronavirus lockdown. That sounds quite serious.
In any event, buoyed by their famous atmosphere, Liverpool absolutely thumped Atlético Madrid 1-0 in the 90 minutes, then smashed them, er, 1-3 in extra time. Diego Simeone has heard of xG, but has no time for it.
To be clear, while Atlético were as committed as ever, this was not a defensive masterclass. It was a toothless battering. Jan Oblak made plenty of smart and important saves, while Liverpool hit the bar in the process of outshooting their visitors by eleventy million to three. But only one went in in extra time, and Roberto Firmino needed two bites at that.
Maybe it’s Adrian’s fault, for an evening of not being Alisson in quite an obvious way. Maybe Liverpool should have got around to taking more than one of those eleventy million chances. Or maybe Simeone is a magician sent from hell to torment those who have devoted their life to attacking football.
Regardless, this was pure and uncut Gazprom, straight to the heart. Look at Marcos Llorente go!
PSG are through!
Martin Keown gets a fair bit of stick for his co-commentary work. And when the Warm-Up realised he’d been given the responsibility of adding colour to PSG’s crucial closed-doors clash with Borussia Dortmund, of bringing the atmosphere to a game with no fans, we were a little trepidatious. But the big man smashed it:
“It’s like Strictly Come Dancing … but without the music.”
Which is to say: it looked strange, nobody seemed to have any rhythm, and after a few minutes we flicked over to the other side.
But not before we heard the sounds of the PSG fans having quite the evening outside. Now, unless you’ve been self-isolating for a while longer than necessary, you’ll know that the stands were empty to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which was officially declared a pandemic a couple of hours before kick-off.
We have to wonder, then, exactly what possessed PSG’s fans to descend on the stadium anyway and sing songs, set off fireworks, shake hands enthusiastically … to do all the things they were supposed to be avoiding, in all the company they weren’t meant to be keeping. We can’t help but wonder if they might not have missed the point. Just a little.
Still, it did give the game an even weirder air than just silence: it was as if the actual game was happening next door. And the vibe certainly worked for PSG, who seem to be a competent Champions League team when nobody’s watching. The defence kept Erling Braut Haaland quiet, while Neymar and Bernat took care of business at the other end. And afterwards, they even found time for some light banter:
Juventus enter quarantine
We’re hiding the big news here in the third slot because, frankly, it’s the scary bit and we’re cowards. Juventus defender and Italy international Daniele Rugani has tested positive for COVID-19. Though not a regular this season, Rugani was an unused substitute against Inter at the weekend, and he has been training with the first-team squad.
In response, Inter have suspended “all competitive activities”, although their Europa League against Getafe game had already been postponed. Meanwhile Juventus are “activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him.”
Italian domestic football has been suspended until April 3, so there will be no immediate knock-on effects for Serie A. However Juve are due to play Lyon next week in the Champions League, and it’s hard to see that going ahead as scheduled. According to the New York Times, a UEFA working group will be meeting to discuss ways to deal with the growing fixture backlog.
Nothing is off the table, according to a person familiar with the discussions, including weekend European matches and eliminating home-and-away ties — replacing them with single-elimination matches at closed or neutral venues — in this year’s competition.
Not the point, of course, but hard to imagine ditching away goals at this stage of the competition going down really well in Liverpool.
IN OTHER NEWS
Head tennis, head tennis, head tennis, head tennis, head tennis, head tennis, PING.
HEROES AND ZEROS
Hero: Jürgen Klopp
Even when the game’s in the balance, he’s out there keeping the people of Liverpool safe from themselves.
Zero: Jürgen Klopp
Have to have some sympathy, of course. He’s just been mugged in front of all his friends by a Tom Waits lookalike. But remember, kids, there’s no such thing as a proper way to play football. If you want to sit deep, play on the counter, and pivot from barfly crooning to hitting accordions with planks, you go for it.
(To be fair to Klopp, he ‘fessed up.)
HAT TIP
For anybody wondering “wtf is happening at Charlton?”, here’s football.london’s James Benge to bring you up to speed on another fine mess for the long-suffering Addicks.
Under normal circumstances at Charlton Athletic all eyes ought to be on Saturday’s trip to Hull City and a traditional “six pointer” that could be the defining fixture of their first season back in the Championship. Instead executive chairman Matt Southall was this morning telling staff not to fear for their next pay cheque as an increasingly brutal feud broke out between him and the club’s majority shareholder Tahnoon Nimer.
COMING UP
At the time of writing, only two Europa League games have been postponed thanks to COVID-19: Sevilla vs. Roma and Inter vs. Getafe. So in theory you’ll still be able to watch, say, Manchester United’s trip to LASK, then Olympiakos vs. Wolves. But honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if there are some last minute postponements. Watch the space of your choice.
Coming to you tomorrow from a fort made of toilet paper, Tom Adams.
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