Epic all-English nights in Europe are back, and how!

Being an avid Arsenal fan, I take no satisfaction in writing this. But in the spirit of national unity, it is good to see English clubs back where they belong amongst the European heavyweights, especially as the standard of football witnessed last Wednesday (April 4) at Anfield was reminiscent of old (take note, Jose Mourinho). I’m not an overtly patriotic person by any means, but I do feel proud to see English teams beat their European opponents, purely from a competitive perspective. I guess I’m only patriotic when football is on (nothing beats a World Cup game at a local pub). 

Nonetheless, to see two English teams face off at the business end of the Champions League is special, not only because these fixtures come few and far between these days, but it also puts the Premier League in a European spotlight. Intensity levels are raised to turbo and the culture surrounding games have a strange familiarity. The hole in your travel wallet is considerably smaller, too. 

Personally, hearing the Champions League anthem blaring through the all-English stadium is reminiscent of my days as a 13-year-old watching Manchester United vs Chelsea in 2008’s final; the last time English teams were pitted against each other in the Champions League (before Wednesday’s game, that is). Memories of Moscow as Ronaldo’s leaping header, his penalty miss, and John Terry’s tears, all sit fondly in my memory. These nostalgic moments of classic English ties in Europe add to the excitement of our resurgence in this competition.

Though English teams can boast about high TV revenues and competition between ‘The Big 6’, the Champions League still holds the true mark of success, hence the global adulation surrounding your Real Madrids and Barcelonas. If you want to be the best, you have to win the Champions League. Simple. Unfortunately, for the football purists in Britain, most won’t like to see other English teams do well, especially Man United, with the bad reputation surrounding Mourinho and the argument that, historically, they have had their fair share of success. 

So, did the game on Wednesday join the treasure chest of memorable nights in England, or at Anfield for that matter? Was it worth staying up until 2am? Without a shadow of a doubt. Liverpool scored three in 31 minutes in a football blitzkrieg, as their high-pressing game and injection of pace paid dividends; this was what a European game in front of The Kop was all about. One banner in the Liverpool stands read “European Royalty”, and nights like these, all too familiar here, showed why this holds true. This game surely will draw comparisons to the magnitude of Liverpool’s win over Chelsea at Anfield in 2005, where Luis Garcia’s famous ‘ghost goal’ took them to the next stage of a competition they would eventually win. That said, this tie with City is far from finished. 

Watching Salah’s first goal against City cause an eruption of noise had echoes of Andrei Arshavin’s goal for Arsenal against Barcelona in 2011 at The Emirates; I remember feeling the stadium shake. Messages from friends on our group Facebook chat read: “Man like Mo” (a popular saying in Britain), “sit down Otamendi”, “this is mental”, “madness”, “(City are) missing Aguero big time though”, and “if I had Salah’s wheels I’d run everywhere” — all a nice summary of events.
I was watching the game with two Indian friends who I share my apartment with, telling them about football in Britain, who I support, and travelling stories. Although they don’t watch much football, they were as excited as I was during Liverpool’s onslaught. It was great to watch a game I love whilst sharing cultural experiences with overseas friends! 
With the attention now focused on tonight’s second leg, Pep Guardiola’s team will have to call on their 12th man, the Etihad Stadium faithful, to step up to the plate. Although traditionally not the most vibrant of atmospheres, surely the fans know they need to get behind the team as much as possible in their biggest tie this season to date. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, scorer of Liverpool’s second last week, says the atmosphere at Anfield was “horrible” for Man City, and it will need to be in the reverse fixture. 

Pencil it in your schedule and set an alarm on your phone, because I’m sure the second leg will prove to be as eventful as the first.

PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR TONIGHT

 

MAN CITY

Raheem Sterling: With 22 goals and counting this season, he will surely be the spearhead of City’s attacks, given Sergio Aguero’s injury and Gabriel Jesus’s lack of match practice recently. Will also have a point to prove from being dropped last week for tactical reasons.

Kevin De Bruyne: Although last week he did not pull the strings in midfield as he normally does, never write off this guy, as he has controlled the tempo in so many games this season and can make chances out of nothing.

David Silva: Liverpool’s high pressing game and his lack of options meant Silva’s night was relatively quiet in the first leg, but again he is one of City’s talismans and can create and score goals for fun. 

LIVERPOOL

Mohamed Salah: If he is available after the knock he took last week, Liverpool can always rely on their marquee player for a moment of brilliance. If he scores — which isn’t unlikely, given his 38 goals for club this season — it will surely be game over for City. 

Virgil van Dijk: A defender would not normally fill this position, but a lot of Liverpool’s success in the tie will hinge on their giant Dutch centre back. With only two fully fit central defenders in the squad, and Dejan Lovren’s erratic performances proving costly, the onus is on van Dijk to see them through with his positioning play and in-your-face approach. 

Loris Karius: Liverpool will play their usual game and attack from the start, but they need a mistake-free performance from their goalkeeper who is slowly finding his rhythm with a consistent run of games.

Joe Raggett 
(A University of Southampton graduate currently interning with t2)

With the 11th edition of IPL under way, the city welcomes fresh faces to KKR, the home team. We’ve already met Shubman Gill, so here’s a look at some of the rest:

Nitish Rana
Age: 24 years
Playing Role: Middle-order batsman
Price: Rs 3.4 crore
A part of the victorious Mumbai Indians team last year, this Delhiite is a Manchester United supporter off the field. Huge brownie points for two big scalps from Sunday’s game against RCB — Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Wow!  

Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Age: 18 years
Playing Role: Fast bowler
Price: Rs 3.2 crore
Bowling consistently at over 145kmph and equally snappy on the field, this youngster from Rajasthan turned many heads in the 2018 U19 World Cup

Apoorv Wankhade
Age: 26 years
Playing Role: Middle-order batsman
Price: Rs 20 lakh
A specialist in limited-over formats, this Maharashtra boy is a fan of WWE star Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock

Rinku Singh
Age: 20 years
Playing Role: Middle-order batsman
Price: Rs 80 lakh
This year’s IPL is a big break for this young cricketer from Aligarh, who was previously with KXIP

Shivam Mavi
Age: 19 years
Playing Role: All-rounder
Price: Rs 3 crore
Having played an important role in the U19 World Cup, this young pacer from UP, who idolises Dale Steyn, has a lot of expectations to live up to

Cameron Delport
Age: 28 years
Playing Role: All-rounder
Price: Rs 30 lakh
This swashbuckling South African cricketer specialises in the T20 format, having played in several international leagues, including Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League

Javon Searles
Age: 31 years
Playing Role: Fast-medium bowler
Price: Rs 30 lakh
Hailing from Barbados, he had played for West Indies in the 2006 U19 World Cup

Tom Curran
Age: 23 years
Playing Role: All-rounder
Price: Rs 1 crore
This is the first IPL season for this South Africa-born English cricketer, who loves to play golf in his spare time

Udayan Mitra
Catch the second leg live on Sony TEN 2, 12.15am