Remarkably, Joe Allen’s appearance in the Europa League final of 2016 means that the Welshman has appeared in a European final more recently than Leo Messi (2015).
This comes courtesy of a tweet from Opta’s Duncan Alexander, following PSG’s capitulation in Madrid to hand the hosts passage through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Joe Allen has appeared in a European final more recently than Lionel Messi
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) March 9, 2022
Kylian Mbappe had opened the scoring for Mauricio Pochetinno’s men, though a 17-minute hat-trick from Karim Benzema was enough to see both of his compatriot’s goals across the two legs cancelled out.
Early on in Jurgen Klopp’s regime, however, Allen and Co. couldn’t secure their first piece of silverware under the German, being defeated 3-1 by Unai Emery’s serial winners, Sevilla.
The picture has changed considerably since the likes of our former No.24 were gradually offloaded and replaced with considerable upgrades.
Possessing a squad with genuine depth just as much as genuine quality, there’s more than a sense of hope that we can effectively compete on all fronts this season and expand upon our League Cup win in February.
#Ep38 of The Red Nets Podcast: Dissecting a Trent myth, previewing Inter Milan… and more!