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Liverpool’s love affair and unique affiliation with European football was once again showcased as they cruised past Roma 5-2 in the Champions League first leg semi-final at Anfield. When Roberto Firmino’s 67th-minute header bounced into the foot of the net, it registered Liverpool’s fifth goal of the game and 38th in the Champions League this season.
Klopp’s free-scoring Reds have enjoyed a solid domestic campaign and are virtually guaranteed a top-four finish at odds of 1/50. It has been their European journey however where the Reds have found another gear and are currently careering down the road to the final in Kiev. The Anfield outfit have blown away any team in their way and their last three fixtures against City and Roma have seen them score ten goals.
They currently make up a fearless bunch and their insatiable appetite for goals has seen some audacious and in some instances, downright outrageous football played. James Milner’s nine assists in the campaign is now the most in any Champions League season ever played. That in itself tells you everything you need to know about how powerful this juggernaut is.
Liverpool are the first side in Champions League history to have three players to score 8 or more goals in a single campaign.
⚽ Mo Salah
⚽ Roberto Firmino
⚽ Sadio Mané🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/5prtisqTDs
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) April 25, 2018
Milner is the consummate professional and a man coveted by most managers because of it. However, he’s never been a flair player or great provider of goals. In this Liverpool team, he bounds forward repeatedly, whipping crosses into the box and giving the forwards lots to work with. Klopp has transformed these players and is getting more than any manager ever has out of the group he has.
Bet365 currently has Liverpool at 6/4 to win the Champions League and whether they do or not, their place in Kiev is almost guaranteed with a three-goal advantage on Roma. The Italians are at 9/1 to progress to the finals and it looks to be the end of the road for them. Liverpool will be wary of what happened to Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico but the talismanic Salah should be able to net at his old stomping ground and put to bed any thoughts of a Roma revival.
Salah has been the player to inspire Liverpool during their European adventure this season and it’s hard to think that they would be in this position without him. The Egyptian has 31 goals in the Premier League and is odds-on to claim the golden boot with Paddy Power at 1/25. There seems to be no stopping Salah when he cuts onto his left foot as he always finds the top right-hand corner of the goal. His goals in the closing stages of the league may help Liverpool steal second place, especially as both Stoke and Brighton still have to come to Anfield.
Without Man City in the Premier League betting markets, Liverpool are 14/1 to win the league with only a couple of games left. Punters who think Liverpool can finish second and pip Man United to it can check this betting site for free bets in the UK.
Liverpool’s season will be considered a success regardless of what happens in the Champions League. Their dominant display will also bode well for next season’s hopes of domestic success, especially after the way they dismantled Manchester City in Europe. Klopp has Liverpool sitting at Europe’s top table again and who knows, they may even be at the head after the 26th of May.
