Tomorrow evening is the Europa League final. Jürgen Klopp has been at Liverpool for just 7 months and has made it to 2 cup finals and is 90 minutes away from Champions League football.
Thierry Henry rarely makes good sense while working for Sky Sports. Despite being one of the most talented Premier League players of all time he is usually an awful pundit.
For the first time in ages he said something which held massive relevance and truth, While in discussion with Jamie Redknapp and Jamie Carragher he highlighted how Klopp has done superbly to realize that the Europa League would be the easier route into the Champions League.
Liverpool take on holders Sevilla in the Europa League final tomorrow night and the Spaniards will not be pushovers. As with Villarreal they have had their issues this season but still remain a strong side.
Yevhen Konoplyanka, once a Liverpool target, picked up a niggle last week but has been declared fit for the final which will be a boost for the Spaniards. Divock Origi, who hasn’t played since picking up an ankle injury on the 20th of April against Everton, has been named in Liverpool’s 22-man squad.
Alberto Moreno, former Sevilla wing-back, told the Dailymail,”I cried when I left Sevilla, and now I want to break their hearts.” Of course, he’s not being disingenuous but such is the nature of football he wants to win for his current club as he did for his former.
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All Liverpool players and fans realize the magnitude of the occasion and the project that is underway at Liverpool. Moreno may well be the best equipped to perform in this final. It is the Spaniard’s second Europa League final in just three years after Sevilla beat Benfica on penalties in 2014. He is also most aware of the threat Sevilla pose.
If Liverpool win tomorrow night a step can be taken to reversing the decline that has set in since the miracle of Istanbul. Already the winds of change seem to be blowing through the hallowed halls of Anfield. As Ian Doyle correctly told the Liverpool Echo, Jürgen Klopp’s greatest achievement has been reviving Anfield. Restoring the historic atmosphere has spurred Liverpool to the final.
Klopp will be telling each of his players that victory in Basel will mean induction into the hall of fame. It might not be the miracle that is the Champions League tournament of 2005 but this edition of the Europe League has been marvelous.
Whatever team is fielded, although much deviation from the second leg against Villarreal would be peculiar, they will receive the global support and adulation of Liverpool Football Club.
Liverpool players may be able to touch the “This is Anfield” sign for the first time after Klopp said that they weren’t allowed to until they’d won something for the club. On to you Jeff – I mean, Jürgen.
Featured Image – This is Anfield