The doors are locked, the belts buckled as Liverpool FC head for the Magical Mystery Tour of AS Roma – the tunes of The Beatles’ album epitomising the spirit of their city. A preview to the match that could make or break The Redmen, and wonders if Klopp’s lads can continue to showcase the utopian drive.
In a season where the respective top leagues in Europe have drubbed the fans with their predictability and dominance, the European stage has offered a treat for one and all, upholding the narrative often associated with the sport of football, that this is anyone and everyone’s game. Draped in togas and crowned by the public recently after their victory in Stadio Olimpico, conquering the Goliath of FC Barcelona in its own den, AS Roma made their trip from the Eternal City to the city of Liverpool to extend their campaign and further their cause, hopeful and rejuvenated. What unfolded next in this semi-final of the highest order can only be condensed through an account of a lop-sided excursion, unraveling the truth at the confluence of skill and confidence.
The town of Liverpool has been at the heart of modern-day culture for more than half a century, ever since a certain Scottish man breathed life in its cultural football club and four young enthusiasts of music and mop tops took the centre stage. The Beatles, the four men called themselves. Rewinding the clock fifty-one years back, their album Magical Mystery Tour had hit the record stores, spreading the sense of psychedelic utopianism around the globe like wildfire. If Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Club Hearts Band was a blueprint for the Beatles’ reflective vision of the world, the Magical Mystery Tour project was an attempt to translate that idea into reality — something which Liverpool FC succeeded in doing years later at a stage worthy of the original Fab Four’s contribution to the world of music.
Lit with flares, flags and fan huddles, Anfield was where all the eyes were at, and making good use of the occasion, it reminded the Romans of the past as one of the banners on display declared “Bring On Yer Roma By The Score”. The Serie A outfit may have shut out teams like Chelsea FC, Atletico Madrid and most recently, FC Barcelona and not have conceded at home in the Champions League this season, but they were yet to face a team as feisty and fervent as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool FC — a taste of fury and focus that tormented the sophisticated Manchester City very recently. The anticipation for the tour was matched with the display of a deep red whirl of malevolent action, after taking its time in the game’s initial stages which was marked with half-chances and scares from both sides, with left wing-back Alexander Kolarov playing a major role. Hitting the crossbar from 30 yards and getting involved in a tackle that ended Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s afternoon, and unfortunately, his season, the Serbian tested the home team’s resolve.