Liverpool defenders are an international punchline in the sporting world, and yesterday’s collapse at Sevilla only provided more fodder for the narrative. No matter what sport you follow, in wherever you live, if there’s a single position group on your team that stands out in a negative way, then they might be analogized to the Liverpool back line.
Credit left back Alberto Moreno for taking ownership of this, as he pulled no punches during a radio interview after the latest collapse; this time in the UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool would have sealed their passage through to the tournament’s round-of-16 with win, but instead blew a 3-0 lead to finish with a 3-3 draw. It was exactly the kind of Spanish nightmare that Jurgen Klopp and his side were hoping to avoid, and to add further drama and gut punch, they even conceded equalizer during extra time.
Klopp said after the match that his team “stopped playing football.”
Alberto Moreno said his side threw away the win, by coming out “half asleep” in the second half, and just exhibiting an “awful” collapse. Moreno said in an interview with Onda Cero radio:
“We threw away three points. We were already through to the next round, but it was not to be. We knew that even with a 3-0 advantage it was going to be complicated, and that was the case.”
“We had spoken at half-time about how with a 3-0 lead we still had to be careful. More than that, it was a case of how awful we were and how many mistakes we made at the back,” he continued.
“They didn’t stop attacking in the second half, but we came out half asleep.”
Although it was a truly devastating collapse, Liverpool remain on top of group E, one point ahead of second place Sevilla and thus in charge of their own destiny when it comes to knockout round qualification. The Reds host Spartak Moscow on December 6th, while Sevilla have an easier opponent in Maribor.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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