Mamadou Sakho was joyous following Liverpool’s Europa League win last night.
In truth, the Frenchman had a nightmarish first-half, where he was caught out of position and cost us goals, but such is his passion for the cause – he bounced back – scoring our crucial third goal in the 4-3 win.
“The most important thing was the team played with heart and the fans never leave us,” Sakho said, reported in the Express.
“It’s a win for the Liverpool country!”
His centre-back partner Dejan Lovren was equally jubilant:
“We had nothing to lose. Nothing is ever over, eh,” the Croat, scorer of our winning fourth goal, added.
“It’s an amazing feeling. It’s one of the best games in the last two or three years. We never stopped believing in ourselves.
“It is a great effort from everyone. We didn’t expect we would start like we did.”
Nobody would have predicted that after Dortmund tore Sakho and Lovren apart in the first-half, it would be the two defenders who’d eventually put the Germans to the sword late in the second.
Both have been intensely criticised throughout their respective Liverpool careers, but fans are now happy for them try and forge a partnership – at the expense of Martin Skrtel who’s very much and rightly considered as backup.
Joel Matip is arriving in the summer from Schalke, and will put pressure on Sakho and Lovren for a starting spot. But a role in the side is for either the Frenchman or the Croat to lose.
If we’re to secure passage to the Europa League final and collect the trophy, they’ll need to put in three more heroic European performances.