Liverpool face difficult Champions League decision to help avoid Manchester United repeat

Amongst soccer’s plethora of cliches, there stay few extra ridiculous than the one proclaiming a two-goal lead is essentially the most harmful a crew can have.

In any case, by no means has a aspect gone two forward then responded with aid by instantly thumping one into their very own internet to make sure the benefit was swiftly halved.

Flippancy apart, the peril within the phrase refers to not the scoreline itself however quite the psychological quandary with which the main crew should then grapple.

Do you persist with what you may have and run the chance of handing the initiative to the opponents? Or is it higher to proceed on the offensive and gamble the opposite crew does not capitalise in your seeming over-confidence?

That is the state of affairs Liverpool discover themselves on this night after they step out on the Puskas Area in Budapest for the second leg of their Champions League spherical of 16 tie towards RB Leipzig.

Main 2-0 from the primary sport, Jurgen Klopp’s aspect are sturdy favourites to progress to the quarter-finals for the third time in 4 years.

And with good cause.

Solely as soon as within the historical past of the European Cup has a crew received a primary leg away from residence by two objectives or extra after which been eradicated. That was in 2019 when, after profitable 2-0 at Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain misplaced 3-1 on their very own patch to exit on away objectives.

Certainly, Liverpool have progressed on the 9 earlier events they received the primary leg away from residence by two objectives.

Nevertheless, latest proof suggests the Reds might be in for a nervy night.

Their first such triumph got here within the 1967/68 season when, after a 2-0 win over Malmo within the Festivals Cup, the Swedish aspect had been crushed 2-1 at Anfield.

Liverpool romped to a 6-0 residence overcome Actual Sociedad within the 1975/76 UEFA Cup having received 3-1 in Spain.

And issues had been equally one-sided within the 1976/77 European Cup semi-final when FC Zurich had been crushed 3-1 away then 3-0 at residence, and within the 1991/92 UEFA Cup when, after a 2-0 win at Tirol, Liverpool eased by means of with a 4-0 Anfield success.

The brand new millennium has thrown up extra testing encounters, although.

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Within the triumphant 2000/01 UEFA Cup run, Michael Owen’s brace earned a 2-0 win at Roma however Liverpool went down 1-0 at residence and had been lucky to flee conceding a second when Markus Babbel was initially adjudged to have dealt with inside the world just for the referee to bizarrely change his thoughts and award a nook.

Issues had been equally fraught at the beginning of the well-known 2004/05 Champions League marketing campaign when Grazer received 1-0 at Anfield having misplaced the primary leg in Austria 2-0.

The next season within the qualifiers for a similar competitors, Liverpool noticed off Kaunas 3-1 away and 2-0 at residence, however had extra problem towards CSKA Sofia within the subsequent spherical, once more profitable 3-1 on the highway however left hanging on in a 1-0 reverse at Anfield.

The newest occasion got here in Roy Hodgson’s first video games in cost within the 2010/11 Europa League, when Rabotnicki had been crushed 2-0 in each legs.

In fact, with Liverpool not taking part in at Anfield this night – coronavirus restrictions in Germany imply the sport, as with the primary leg, is in Hungary – there aren’t fairly the same old circumstances.

However no matter venue, Klopp and his gamers have an intriguing name to make concerning their strategy to a different robust Champions League encounter.