The team at Liverpool are people who have been playing football. Some of them are professionals, others are new talent, and the club itself has seen some incredible players pass through its halls. Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, and others have all graced Liverpool with their skills, their experience, and some have built their careers around this club.
Understandably, when looking at Liverpool’s greatest European comebacks, there are quite a few options to pick from. But the question on the minds of people both internationally and even in the hometown of Liverpool themselves is this. Is it just skill that gets them out of these jams, or are they just flukes?
No Star Players?
If you wanted to find an instance where Liverpool overcame incredible odds with a slim chance, one needs only to look back at 2018 to 19, with a match against Barcelona. This was a game that the team is expected to lose, and the manager even confessed that if they were going to lose, they would do it their way. However, what no one ever thought possible was for Liverpool to come out and have an incredible 4 – 0 victory.
What was interesting about this match is that the team were absent two of the star players at the time. There were three linchpins in the Liverpool machine at that point, and with two absent, you can begin to understand why people were skeptical that the victory was even on the cards, let alone possible. Some could argue that this was a fluke. Everything aligned in the right way, there was a four leaf clover on the lapel of every fan in the stand, but the truth is that this could just be an instance of skill.
The Right Players?
Some people would argue that the ability of Liverpool to make European comebacks is down to what players are on the team at that point. In 2005 and 2006, they played off in the Champions League against Olympiakos.
Victory was an impossible here, because the team had already lost the previous encounter. However, thanks to some precarious plays in previous matches and the current state of the tournament at the time, Liverpool had to score 3 goals to come out on top. In fact, they needed to get a clear two-goal advantage to progress to the knockout rounds, so there was a lot of tension riding on this. For Liverpool, it was to go big or go home.
Perhaps what ultimately won for the team was the presence of Steven Gerrard. An incredible player, and a legend in Liverpool, Steven Gerrard is widely known as being one of the best players England ever turned out. His skills were legendary, and so when he scored a goal quite early on that was nothing short of miraculous, things began to look up. In fact, Steven Gerrard managed to score two of the three goals which ultimately netted the team to win, as they went home on a clear 3-1 lead.
Some people would argue that players like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were what made Liverpool the powerhouse that they were known to be. These were players who always seemed to step up in moments of crisis, and achieved some absolutely incredible sporting feats to keep Liverpool within their desperation for the top slots.
Our Thoughts
So there is absolutely no denying that some of the different options which are available when it comes to the European comebacks that Liverpool has made to raise the question of whether or not there is an element of fluke or skill involved.
In absolute truth, we think it is a question of skill. These players wanted to win. They put everything into the game, so for them to come so far and thrive is an indicator that this was going to be their season regardless. Sometimes, everything just comes together. The human factor, the drive to win, and the skills of the players all marry up and create the perfect victory.
Liverpool is a club which has always done well. They have always had a very fair reputation as being professional and capable players. Even when Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, and players like them left to go and pursue other passions and do other things within the industry, Liverpool still continued to thrive. Perhaps we will see more incredible European comebacks like the ones which we have been witness to recently. It’s obvious that the new generation is holding its own, because both Torres and Gerard have not been present for the last five years at least, and so their departure has left a hole which can’t be filled easily. This is perhaps an indicator that the new blood is not as bad as people think, and does lend credence to the theory that their comebacks are down to skill and not luck.
