LIVERPOOL: Liverpool are banking on Mohamed Salah and the passion of the Anfield crowd to propel them towards the Champions League final on Tuesday (Apr 24) but Roma stand in their way in a mouthwatering repeat of the 1984 title decider. Spearheaded by Salah and inspired from the touchline by exuberant manager Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool will look to repeat the blitzkrieg attack that blew Premier League champions Manchester City away in the previous round. But the five-times champions will be wary of the team that staged a remarkable comeback against European aristocrats Barcelona in the last eight, overcoming a 4-1 first-leg deficit to progress to their first European Cup semi-final in 34 years. Klopp is credited by both City manager Pep Guardiola and Roma’s American co-owner James Pallotta for transforming 25-year-old Salah, who joined the club from Roma last year, from a rather nervy finisher into a deadly striker who has scored more than 40 times for Liverpool this season. “I think the coach there has clearly figured out how best to utilise him, using him in a different position I would say to Roma because you’ve got (Edin) Dzeko in the middle,” Pallotta told the BBC. Roma’s record of losing their past three Champions League games on the road – conceding eight goals in the process – does not bode well ahead of a visit to the home of Liverpool, who have tightened up at the back since the arrival in January of Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk. Bruce Grobbelaar, the… [Read full story]
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