Liverpool FC’s players can handle themselves on the big stage, but fans are helping turn them transform into giants.
That’s the opinion of Reds owner John Henry, who believes Liverpool fans played a decisive role in the team’s progress in the UEFA Champions League semifinals, according to The Wall Street Journal’s Joshua Robinson. Liverpool’s three-goal outburst vs. Manchester City on April 8 at Anfield in the first half of their quarterfinal first-leg game ultimately provided a large-enough margin to take the Reds into the semifinals of European soccer’s elite competition.
“You really have to give the credit to the players, but in my mind despite their greatest efforts, the supporters really took them past Manchester City which is probably the best club in the world today,” Henry wrote in an email, per Robinson. “Anfield, in the first leg, was astonishing.”
Newly crowned Premier League champion Manchester City leads Liverpool by 29 points in the standings with one game in hand. Nevertheless, Henry recognizes how fans can create an upset in a home-and-home series in a way they might not be able to do over a months-long league campaign.
Liverpool will take on AS Roma in the Champions League semifinals. Anfield will host the first leg, which will kick off at 2:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The second leg will take place at 2:45 p.m. ET on May 2 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
