They also play in the Reds’ 250th game in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, so to mark the occasion we’ve picked out five of the best Anfield nights against Italian opposition from a competition we have won six times….

LIVERPOOL FC 3 INTERNAZIONALE 1European Cup, 1964/65

Anfield’s first great European night made the name Liverpool FC, and the sound of the Spion Kop, echo across the continent. European champions Internazionale arrived on Merseyside for the first leg of the European Cup semi-final, but in what was just the Reds’ fourth home game in their maiden season in Europe, manager Bill Shankly played a psychological masterstroke.

The Redmen had won the FA Cup for the first time in LFC’s history three days earlier, beating Leeds United FC 2-1 at Wembley. In an era when supporters queued to pay at the turnstile on a first come, first served basis, Anfield was full and the gates locked by 5.40pm. A red cauldron of 54,000 was already bubbling.

Shankly saw an opportunity. Instead of sending his players out first – as was the

tradition – he allowed the Italians, featuring legendary Spanish midfielder Luis Suarez, to run out before his men. They headed straight down to the Spion Kop end and were greeted by the type of roar that could blow the topping off a pizza.

Then Shankly turned to left-back Gerry Byrne, his arm in a sling after bravely playing on with a broken collarbone at Wembley, and fellow injury victim Gordon Milne and told them to take the FA Cup out and do a circuit of the Anfield pitch with it.

“We were in the dressing room and Shanks walked in with the Cup,” recalled Milne. “Then he turned to me and Gerry and said 'you two go around the pitch. Let the fans have a look at it'. And I can honestly say in all the games I've been at or played in, I have never felt an atmosphere like that.”

Internazionale's players visibly wilted, ran towards the relative calm of the Anfield Road end and four minutes after kick-off found themselves a goal down when Roger Hunt spun in the box to fire home Ian Callaghan's cross.

Alessandro Mazzola quickly pulled one back after a rare mistake by Ron Yeats, but Liverpool FC went 2-1 up in the 34th minute when Hunt cleverly touched Willie Stevenson's free-kick into the path of the forward-running Callaghan, who clipped the ball into the net.

Chris Lawler had a goal disallowed due to a team-mate being in an offside position, but when Ian St John made it 3-1 in the 75th minute a chorus of 'Go-oh back to Italee,' to the tune of Santa Lucia, rang around a jubilant Anfield.

“This crowd made such a noise as I have never heard in my life,” said Vittorio Pozzo, Italy’s 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cup manager who attended the game as a journalist. “It was beyond my comprehension how a football crowd could be stirred to such passion. No team could hope to triumph against this crowd on this night.”

Unfortunately when Inter went back to Italy they beat Liverpool FC 3-0 in controversial fashion in the San Siro with the name of Spanish referee Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendbil, who allowed a goal scored directly from a supposed indirect free-kick and another after the ball was kicked out of goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence's hands, still sending shivers down the spines of older Kopites to this day.

LIVERPOOL FC 2 JUVENTUS FC 1UEFA Champions League, 2004/05

Almost 20 years on since the Heysel Disaster, when 39 fans - mostly Juventus FC supporters - tragically lost their lives before the European Cup final between LFC and Juve in Brussels, the two clubs met again for the first time.

Inevitably the events of 1985 dominated the build-up to the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Anfield and before kick-off the message was ‘memoria e amicizia’ - in memory and friendship.

The Kop held aloft a mosaic that read AMICIZIA while Ian Rush, who played for both clubs, was joined by Phil Neal, Liverpool FC’s captain from 1985, and Michel Platini, whose penalty won the final for Juventus FC, to present a special plaque to the travelling Juve supporters.

A period of silence was also held following the death of Pope John Paul II, something that Reds Polish goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek later admitted had left him so upset that he was in no fit state to play with 19-year-old Scott Carson brought in to make his European debut.

Carson’s selection was a shock and it was something of a shock that Liverpool FC had even reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-final. Manager Rafael Benítez was in his first season in charge at Anfield and the Reds had scraped through the group stage and were fifth in the Premier League, 30 points behind Chelsea FC and a point behind Everton FC.

Juve were favourites to progress, but were surprised to see 21-year-old Frenchman Anthony Le Tallec, who hadn’t started a game for the Reds for 14 months, in Benítez’s starting XI with Xabi Alonso, who hadn’t played since breaking his foot on New Year’s Day, only fit enough to return on the bench.

Juventus FC, with Gianluigi Buffon in goal, Lillian Thuram at full-back, Fabio Cannavaro at centre-half, Pavel Nedved in midfield and Alessandro Del Piero upfront alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had only conceded twice in eight UEFA Champions League games, but were left stunned after 25 minutes.

Amidst a cacophony of noise, Sami Hyypiä volleyed Liverpool FC into a 10th minute lead when Luis García flicked on a Steven Gerrard corner. Anfield was rocking and 15 minutes later the Spaniard, fast earning himself a reputation for being the little man for the big occasions, left Buffon grasping thin air with a dipping, left-footed volley from almost 30-yards out, Le Tallec getting the assist.

Zlatan hit a post and Carson made a fine save to deny Del Pierro, but Cannavaro got a goal back for the visitors in the 63rd minute with a header that slipped through the teenage goalkeeper’s gloves. As You’ll Never Walk Alone rang out at full-time it was a tad muted as some inside Anfield feared Juve’s away goal could be crucial, but they were wrong.

An injury and suspension-hit Liverpool FC defended like lions to earn a 0-0 draw in Turin and progress 2-1 on aggregate. Rafa’s Reds went all the way to the final in Istanbul to play AC Milan, but that’s a story for another day.

LIVERPOOL FC 2 INTERNAZIONALE 0

UEFA Champions League, 2007/08

Having grown up on stories of the Anfield atmosphere for Internazionale’s visit in 1965, and how the Reds were robbed of a place in the final in the second leg, many Liverpool FC supporters were pleased to be facing the Italian champions in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions league round of 16.

The two clubs hadn’t met in a competitive fixture since and the feeling that LFC owed Inter one was very much in the air ahead of the first leg at Anfield. However, having lost at home to Championship Barnsley FC in the FA Cup at the weekend and sitting 16 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal FC in fifth in the Premier League, Liverpool FC were the underdogs.

Internazionale, managed by Roberto Mancini, were on course to win a third successive Serie A title, were unbeaten in their opening 25 league games and had won their group with five wins from six matches. Strike partnership Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Julio Cruz were one of the most feared in Europe.

Anfield was at its ear-drum thumping best in the opening exchanges and it led to a frenzied start. Rafa Benítez’s men attacked and the visitors had two players booked in the opening 10 minutes including ex-Everton FC defender Marco Materazzi for barging into Fernando Torres.

Inter goalie Julio Cesar had to deal with a Sami Hyypiä header, but with Mancini’s men content to defend in traditional Italian style chances were few and far between in the opening half-hour. But then Anfield exploded into life when Materazzi pulled Torres back and, despite his protests, was shown another yellow card followed by a red.

The Italian champions retreated even further into their shells after that and early in the second period Mancini replaced Cruz with ex-Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira. He’d only been on the pitch for two minutes when he inadvertently knocked the ball into the path of Torres, but Cesar dived to push his shout around the post.

It looked like being a frustrating night for Kopites, but when Internazionale lost their other centre-back Ivan Cordoba to injury 16 minutes from time it unsettled the defence and Liverpool FC finally took advantage in the 85th minute.

Jermaine Pennant crossed to the far post where Dirk Kuyt chested the ball down and struck a half-volley that bounced up off the turf and over the diving Internazionale goalkeeper. “Liverpool have scored late, great goals decade after decade at the Kop end,” said ITV commentator Clive Tyldesley. “They waited and waited and waited and with 85 frustrating minutes played Dirk Kuyt gives them what they needed.”

There was more to come. As the game ticked into stoppage-time, captain Steven Gerrard received a pass from Pennant outside the penalty area, pushed the ball to a wider angle to evade two Inter defenders and unleashed a low, angled drive that bobbled across the turf and out of reach of the full-stretch Cesar before going in off the post.

Just like in 1965, Liverpool FC had beaten Internazionale by two goals at Anfield and this time there was to be no heartbreak in the San Siro. A goal by Torres secured a 1-0 win, and a 3-0 aggregate success, with travelling Kopites unfurling a banner that read VENDETTA DELLO SHANKLY - Shankly’s Revenge.

LIVERPOOL FC 5 AS ROMA 2UEFA Champions League, 2017/18

You don’t see Alisson Becker concede five goals in one game very often, but that’s precisely what happened on his Anfield debut when Liverpool FC faced AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg in 2018.

In their first season back in the competition under Jürgen Klopp’s management, the Reds had gone undefeated in the group stage, smashing both NK Maribor and FC Spartak Moscow 7-0, and knocked out both FC Porto (5-0 on aggregate) and Manchester City FC (5-1 on aggregate) in the knockout stages.

With an exciting attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Manè and Mo Salah - who went into this match on an astonishing 41 goals in his LFC debut season - and the newly acquired defensive cornerstone of Virgil van Dijk, belief was growing that the Redmen could win a sixth European Cup. Now they had to overcome AS Roma.

The pre-match build up was marred by an unprovoked assault on Liverpool FC supporter Seán Cox outside Anfield that left the Dunboyne-based Red with life-changing injuries. AS Roma fan Simone Mastrelli, 30, was later jailed for three-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Inside the ground, Anfield was a sea of colour and a cacophony of noise with song of the season ‘Allez Allez Allez’ growing louder and louder every time the Reds scored. Only one team had ever hit five goals in a UEFA Champions League semi-final previously, but after 69 minutes Klopp’s rampant Redmen had done the same.

AS Roma started well and Aleksandar Kolarov struck a shot that went through the hands of Loris Karius and hit the crossbar. The Reds then lost Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to an ACL injury, which ended the midfielder’s season, before Mané raced clean through but fired over. Mané also had a goal disallowed for offside, but it was Salah who proved to be the game-changer in the 36th minute.

Mané pounced on a loose ball and found Firmino, who slipped a pass to PFA Player of the Year Salah on the right. He cut inside and curled home a stunning shot that clipped the underside of the crossbar on the way in. Ten minutes later, Firmino sent the Egyptian King racing clear and he clipped the ball over Alisson in a one-v-one to make it 2-0, but again refused to celebrate scoring against his former club while the rest of Anfield went wild.

It was one-way traffic in the opening 25 minutes of the second period as Liverpool FC flew forward towards the Kop like the Red Arrows. It was 3-0 in the 56th minute when Salah beat the offside trap to run on to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pass and centred the ball for Mané to touch past Alisson. When Firmino added a fourth just moments later, Salah again providing the assist, Kopites were already thinking about the final in Kyiv, but there were more goals to come.

With 69 minutes on the clock, Firmino headed home James Milner’s corner to make it a record nine UEFA Champions League assists in one season for the midfielder and also set a new club record of 44 goals scored by Liveroool FC in a single European campaign. It was a rout, but after Salah was substituted the Reds seemed to run out of steam and two late goals by Edin Džeko and Diego Perotti, from the penalty spot, gave the Italians hope for the second leg.

It ended up being a nervy night as AS Roma triumphed 4-2 in the Stadio Olimpico, but the Reds held on to reach the final in Kyiv and deserved to. The football they had played in the first leg was some of the most thrilling Anfield had ever seen in a European semi-final.

LIVERPOOL FC 1 SSC NAPOLI 0

UEFA Champions League, 2018/19

Madrid 2019. Mo Salah’s penalty. Divock Origi’s strike. Liverpool FC, Champions of Europe for a sixth time. Yet that glorious summer night in Estadio Metropolitano, and ‘the Barcelona game’ that preceded it at Anfield, would never have happened but for Alisson Becker.

Six months prior, Jürgen Klopp’s side went into their last Group Stage match against SSC Napoli at Anfield with different permutations in play. Draw or lose and the Reds would finish third and drop into the UEFA Europa League; win and they would progress to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League…unless the Italians scored. Then a winning margin of two goals plus would be required.

Essentially, a 1-0 win was needed, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side had already defeated the Reds 2-0 in Naples and knew that a defeat would see them eliminated, unless Paris Saint-Germain FC lost away to FK Crvena Zvezda in Serbia. Spoiler alert: PSG won 4-1.

Two days before the match, a mural of Klopp by artist Akse appeared on a wall on Jordan Street in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle area, sparking a street art trend, and 21-year-old defender Joe Gomez signed a new contract, saying “it means the world to me. The Reds were also Premier League leaders.

At Anfield, the atmosphere was laced with nervous tension. Winning 1-0 when you need to win 1-0 sounds simple enough, but our famous European nights wouldn't quite be the same without heart-stopping moments. This match was to feature one in stoppage-time.

José Callejón missed an early chance for the visitors at the far post and Sadio Mané was also wasteful, spurning three first half opportunities before finally netting only for the flag to go up for offside. A yellow card for Virgil van Dijk also meant he would be suspended if the Reds progressed and that became more likely in the 34th minute.

“Just past the half-hour at a chilly, angsty Anfield, Salah was suddenly free in space on the edge of the Napoli box, scampering in on goal in that bouncy style, hair flapping, legs whirring like a cartoon kangaroo,” wrote The Guardian’s Barney Ronay. “Salah clipped the ball hard and low past David Ospina without breaking stride. From a mix-and-match opening half-hour fraught with dead-ends Liverpool were 1-0 up: the game, the night, the group just about sliding their way.”

Liverpool FC had chances to make things more comfortable after the break, but forgot their shooting boots with Salah, Mané, van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum all failing to make the most of good opportunities. SSC Napoli had created little, but then in the 92nd minute, like a lion that had been biding its time hiding in the long grass, came their moment.

Arkadiusz Milik, one of Napoli’s substitutes, suddenly found the ball at his feet inside the six-yard box, two minutes into stoppage time,” wrote The Guardian’s Daniel Taylor. “For a split second, it was a shudder of apprehension reverberating through the stadium. Alisson, the Liverpool goalkeeper, was off his line, spreading his body, limbs pointing north, west, south and east, and the shot was blocked.”

Anfield celebrated like a goal had been scored and moments later the final whistle confirmed Liverpool FC’s place in the last 16 of what proved to be a UEFA Champions League winning season. “I have no clue how he made that save,” said Klopp. “If I knew Alisson was this good, I would have paid double!”