Who do you love?

Champions League quarter final round brought a lot more excitement than anyone anticipated. While TV stations  cry over losing Barcelona and therefore Messi in this round, they almost lost Ronaldo as well. The casual viewers got great matchups overall, saw some huge comebacks, and some almost huge comebacks… Most importantly, Liverpool beat City twice to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League. A sentence many of us did not think we would hear a few months ago especially with our defensive woes, suspect goal keeping and several injuries. The injuries are sadly still there with Liverpool missing some key players like Can and Lallana  but our defending has improved immensely. 

Now that we have sort of caught our breath and got most of the voice cords back in full force, it is time to look ahead. If we thought there were no ‘easy’ match-ups in the quarter final round, there definitely is not one in the semi-finals. 

So… as the Doors would say ( or YG and Drake I guess) Who do you love?

This will be a great argument for the next 48 hours… which do you personally prefer? The easier route to the final or beat the best to be the best mentality on the way to the very top? There is no easy way to make it to the final but some might argue that a matchup with Roma would be the most favorable for Liverpool. 

I agree. I would rather have Bayern and Madrid battle out to make it to the final and have Liverpool take on Roma to earn their ticket to the final.

Is it an easy match-up ? Definitely not… ask Messi.. or even better ask Coutinho who got a great view of the game from the stands I would think.. had to get that one in…

Roma is not an easy opponent by all means. They have won every single Champions league game at the Olimpico this season and have not conceded a single goal. The atmosphere there can be intimidating with the passionate Roma fanbaseand the team is coming off one of its memorable wins and one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history.

That plays into the hands of the Reds though I think. Winning a round like that against Barcelona is definitely a huge morale boost for a team showing they can beat anyone, come back from any score but it also can also take a lot away from a team. The locker room celebrations of Roma resembled a team who just won a championship, not a quarter final round and as big of an achievement as that was under the circumstances, I think the relief that brings can be Liverpool’s biggest advantage.

Roma has a lot of weapons offensively and definitely pose a better defense to match against Liverpool’s attacking force. So does Bayern with a World Class line up from top to bottom… and even when Real Madrid look vulnerable, they give you the sense that they can score any second with the talent they have all over the field including their RB and LB. One thing Roma does not have is the experience to finish off a tough round and move on to the next one, an even tougher challenge whereas Bayern and Madrid have plenty of that type of experience.

Every team has some great moments but a few can follow it up with another one immediately afterwards. This will in some ways be Liverpool’s challenge as well. Throughout the season we have had some great games followed by a total shambolic performance and lack of concentration. My hope is that Liverpool has learned from these experiences and has started to produce what Klopp calls “mature” performances. 

We are ready for whoever comes up next having beaten one of the world’s top teams 3 times within a few months but I would rather first take my chances with Roma FC.. hopefully with the first game away where we bring a favorable score to Anfield to finish them off. YNWA… These are great times to be a Liverpool fan…Great performances with an even brighter future ahead!