It’s mad. We have a Champions League semi-final to play with Barcelona and nobody seems that nervous. Manager, teams and fans included.
We suppose that’s what happens when you get really, really good at football!
Sadio Mane will start on our left-wing at Camp Nou this evening, charged with cutting in and doing damage. He’ll be up against Sergi Roberto, who while a terrific player, could be potentially considered a weak link when Barca don’t have the ball.
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Coutinho used to play this position for us, but the Brazilian is now with tonight’s opponents, and will form a mouthwatering front-three alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Mane is jealous Barca have Coutinho in their XI and we no longer have – but is still confident the Reds can get the job done.
“He is a great, great player and I’m a little bit jealous that Barcelona can get him,” Mane told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s game, cited in Goal. “I would love to see him.
“But we are happy for him. He really enjoyed playing alongside his team-mates and gave everything, and is still young and can improve a lot. I know him, he is a hard worker.
“Hopefully he will still be in bed when we play!”
Coutinho’s a jaw-droppingly good player – and either Trent or Joe Gomez will have an extremely tough time against him; but the fact is our former no.10’s departure allowed us to get to the next level.
With the money got for Phil, we signed Virgil van Dijk and Alisson – two players who have transformed our backline into the best defensive unit on the planet.
Without those two additions, we wouldn’t be fighting for the Premier League this season, just one point behind City – and likely not in another Champions League semi- either.