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Wednesday 1 May 2019 20:45, UK
People say Jurgen Klopp struggles in finals but he's never lost a two-legged European knockout tie as Liverpool manager. We take a look at his 100 per cent record over two legs and examine what makes him and his team so effective in these situations.
Liverpool start their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona as slight underdogs but the Reds are confident and why shouldn't they be? Not only are they on a 10 match unbeaten run but they have never lost a two-legged European tie under Jurgen Klopp.
It's a record that extends back to 2016 and a run to the Europa League final that included victories over Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. They have since seen off Manchester City and now Bayern Munich in the Champions League too.
Here's that record in full…
R32 - Augsburg 0-0 (a) then 1-0 (h) to win 1-0 on aggregate
A stalemate in Germany left Liverpool vulnerable to an away goal but James Milner's early penalty at Anfield proved the difference between the teams.
R16 - Man Utd 2-0 (h) then 1-1 (a) to win 3-1 on aggregate
Daniel Sturridge's penalty and Roberto Firmino's goal put Liverpool in command in the first leg and when Philippe Coutinho equalised at Old Trafford, United's hopes were extinguished.
QF - Dortmund 1-1 (a) then 4-3 (h) to win 5-4 on aggregate
Liverpool took a good result back home thanks to Divock Origi's goal before drama ensued at Anfield. Two down at half time and 3-1 down on the hour, things looked bleak for Klopp's men but Dejan Lovren's late goal completed a classic comeback under the lights.
SF - Villarreal 0-1 (a) then 3-0 (h) to win 3-1 on aggregate
Beaten by a last-minute goal in Spain, Liverpool were on the brink again in the last four but once again rescued it at Anfield. Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana both scored in a 3-0 win.
R16 - Porto 5-0 (a) then 0-0 (h) to win 5-0 on aggregate
Sadio Mane's hat-trick ended the tie as a contest as Liverpool delivered a devastating display to see off Porto. Klopp was even able to rest players for the second leg with an important Premier League game against Manchester United coming up at the weekend.
QF - Man City 3-0 (h) then 2-1 (a) to win 5-1 on aggregate
City started as favourites but that didn't last long - Liverpool were three up by half-time at Anfield. Pep Guardiola's team entertained brief thoughts of a comeback when they scored early in the second leg, but the Reds soon snuffed that out by winning in Manchester too.
SF - Roma 5-2 (h) then 2-4 (a) to win 7-6 on aggregate
Roma were ripped apart at Anfield with Mohamed Salah two scoring twice in the first half. Liverpool scored three more before the visitors gave themselves hope. Two more early goals for Klopp's side in the Italian capital should have ended it for good, although there was a late scare.
R16 - Bayern Munich 0-0 (h) then 3-1 (a) to win 3-1 on aggregate
Liverpool showed they could do ice as well as fire in negotiating a goalless draw in front of their own fans before picking Bayern off on the counter-attack over in Munich. Mane scored twice and Virgil van Dijk was on target too as the German champions were eliminated.
QF - Porto 2-0 (h) then 4-1 (a) to win 6-1 on aggregate
After taking charge of the game at Anfield thanks to goals from Naby Keita and Firmino, Liverpool once again went to Porto and produced an emphatic performance to progress.
Although Liverpool have never actually gone through directly because of away goals under Klopp, his team's ability to score on their travels has been a huge part of their success. Sixteen goals in five Champions League away games in the knockout stages is a ludicrously good record.
Four of those matches have been won and while they lost the fifth, if they had not scored twice in that game in Rome then they would have been eliminated. It's a huge weapon for Liverpool.
Other clubs often seek to keep it tight away from home and that can be a mistake - as it proved for Guardiola's City side when they made some adjustments to their team in an attempt to contain Tottenham in their quarter-final and ended up losing 1-0.
Taking an away goal into the home leg is too important to make those kind of compromises and Klopp knows it.
As it happens, Liverpool have not actually played the away leg first since beating Porto 5-0 last season. Their last four Champions League ties have seen them play the home leg first.
Opening up with a trip to the Camp Nou will be their most difficult challenge yet but just because Barcelona are likely to dominate possession does not mean that Liverpool will be dominated. Their ability to counter-attack on teams is what makes them so dangerous.
No team has had more fast breaks over the past two seasons in the Champions League and no team has carved out more clear-cut chances to score in that time either.
Liverpool, perhaps more than any other team, are capable of those crazy spells that can take a two-legged tie away from their opponents. Last season they scored two goals in five minutes at Porto, three in 20 minutes versus City, and three in 12 against Roma.
Few have that ability to blow teams away and, for all their qualities, Barcelona, with their high line, will still be susceptible to the sort of spell that could end their hopes.
"I only know if we meet them we can beat them," Klopp once said. It will be a tough test in the Camp Nou on Wednesday.
But it might be an even tougher test for Barcelona.
