Gary Lineker has backed calls to abolish the away goals rule in European competitions next season in a bid to encourage teams to be more adventurous in knock-out ties.
Recent reports suggested UEFA were considering doing away with the away goal rule in both the Champions League and Europa League next term.
The rule, which comes into effect in the result of a draw on aggregate after the second leg, first emerged in 1965 and was established in UEFA competitions towards the end of the decade - and has stood ever since.
However, the landscape of football has changed significantly since as the rule was initially introduced to counter enormous travel stress, match balls not being standardised and travelling supporters being few and far between.
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Speaking during coverage of Manchester United's defeat to Barcelona last night, Lineker said: “I don't know about you but I'd love to see an experiment for one season where they get rid of the away goal rule.
“I just think home legs, first legs, I just think everyone is a little bit cautious.
"They've got a fear of giving away an away goal or two and, if you get an away goal it's like, 'woah, that's it'.”
The former Everton striker could get his wish, as Kicker reported UEFA’s Executive Committee met in Rome earlier this year to discuss a potential change - although a final decision on the matter is not expected immediately.
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The first steps towards a change emerged in September 2018 when Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA’s competition director, confirmed that the top international coaches expressed their belief the rule was outdated.
“They [the coaches] think that achieving away goals is not as difficult as in the past.”
Last season’s Champions League saw Kostas Manolas head a dramatic late goal for Roma in the second leg with Barcelona, sending the Italian side through to the semi-finals where they faced Liverpool after a 4-4 draw.
Meanwhile, the Reds have fallen on both sides of the ruling on their European adventures in recent years.
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Their last away goals victory saw them knock Barcelona out of the Champions League in 2007, though they have been also been eliminated at the hands of Atletico Madrid and Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League as a result in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
Meanwhile, Liverpool's most famous away goals result saw them progress to the European Cup Final in 1981 after beating Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
