Blog: A magical night must be followed up at Bournemouth

After a few days to fully digest the events of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final clash with Borussia Dortmund, one still cannot quite find the words to describe a magical evening. This was Liverpool’s greatest moment so far of what has been a topsy-turvy campaign, and one a lot of belief and character can be gained from.

Going into the contest, we were gearing ourselves up for a Dortmund side who would aim for a quick-fire start to the game after last week’s 1-1 draw in Germany. The Anfield faithful would need to be in overdrive and get fully behind Jürgen Klopp’s side to have any chance of getting a result, and the pre-game fanfare reached unbelievable levels following the welcome for the team bus.

We didn’t have the best start to the game, however, conceding two goals in rapid succession courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. We were significantly rattled after conceding two within the first 10 minutes and needed to regroup, and the Reds grew into the game despite the away side’s incisive attacking threat. During half-time, I never wanted to be inside the dressing room with Klopp and his men more, but I can imagine it was a colourful affair.

Klopp’s words certainly resonated with the players as we were a completely different side in the second half. Re-energised, resilient and showing enterprise going forward, we began playing Dortmund at their own game and patching up the problems of the first half. Divock Origi’s strike, just two minutes into the second half, gained us the momentum we needed to begin a fightback and, although we would concede again, the fight in us did not wither and, in fact, grew stronger.

Klopp’s decision to bring on Joe Allen and Daniel Sturridge proved to be a masterstroke, giving us the extra quality further up the pitch, but it only seemed right that our two best players in the Europa League this season, Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren, scored the goals at the Kop end to seal an indescribable comeback.

It is hard to say where exactly this result sits on the list of greatest Liverpool comebacks but it is certainly one to remember for an age to come. Even as Klopp calmly celebrated Lovren’s winner in the midst of pandemonium, you could tell he knew how much of an amazing feat just took place within the context of our season.

But the manager will have wanted celebrations to come and go, as we return to the Premier League for an away encounter with Bournemouth later today. This is not a contest to take lightly, given the Cherries’ propensity to cause upsets. But after Thursday, confidence will, hopefully, be sky high within the Reds camp. Furthermore, having reached the magical 40-point mark, Eddie Howe’s side are all but safe for another campaign in the top flight and appear to be playing with freedom.

Bournemouth are very hard workers and possess the ability to work their way into dangerous positions; this must be contained to nullify the home side’s threat. Josh King’s pace up front also poses a potential problem, and our defence will have taken notice throughout the season.

Thursday night proved to be a wonderful evening for everyone affiliated with the club, but it was not done in vain, and marching on against Bournemouth will be the first step in proving that.

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