A successful European campaign is like a long journey. It can be incredibly rewarding but it’s also a tiring addition to the bread and butter of league football.
Finals, should a team do well enough to reach one, take care of themselves. The league programme has been completed and the match takes place at a neutral venue.
In terms of providing a drain on a team’s resources, semi-finals are the most intense round of a European competition. They are surrounded by other fixtures which are often of great importance too.
Liverpool have seen in the past how difficult it is to win such games, particularly when there is a need to rotate the starting XI for the match which falls between the two legs of the continental tie.
In 2019, when thoughts were drifting towards wondering how on earth the Reds would recover from a 3-0 loss to Barcelona, Liverpool travelled to face Newcastle United.
It took an 86 th minute winner from Divock Origi for Jurgen Klopp’s team to secure all three points.
Twelve months earlier, as the Reds prepared for a trip to Rome for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, they could only stumble to a dour 0-0 draw with Stoke City at Anfield.
And back in 2016, a Liverpool XI featuring the likes of Brad Smith, Kevin Stewart and Sheyi Ojo were comfortably beaten 3-1 at Swansea. The fixture came between their two tussles with Villarreal which determined who would reach the Europa League final in Basel that season.
The Reds would love to be involved in a Champions League semi-final this week, but thanks to their poor first half performance against Real Madrid in Spain, it was not to be.
However, they can certainly hope to take advantage of any European distraction and hangover which their next opponents may be suffering from this weekend.
Manchester United host Roma this evening, before Liverpool travel to Old Trafford on Sunday for a match which is always of great importance.
It carries extra weight for Klopp’s men this time around, as they need a win to stand a realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
The good news from their perspective is that it isn’t just them who has struggled with league matches that are sandwiched by European semi-final games.
In the last decade there have been seven instances of a Premier League side reaching the last four in the Champions League. Those teams have collectively won just two of the domestic fixtures that occurred between the European matches.
It has been a similar story in the Europa League. Back in 2019, both Arsenal and Chelsea reached the final of the former UEFA Cup, and in the league match amid their semi-final obligations they drew with Brighton and beat Watford respectively.
The Gunners also reached the last four the season before, and on that occasion they lost to United between matches with Atletico Madrid.
It was a reversal of what had happened the previous May. In 2017 it was United who went all the way in the Europa League, but they lost to Arsenal in the league during their semi-final double header with Celta Vigo.
Add in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Swansea during semi-final time in 2013, and English teams have a record of won four, drawn three and lost six in league games among European last four ties over the last 10 years.
Liverpool should also be well rested ahead of Sunday’s match too, having had a rare full week to prepare for the match with United. This will be only the fifth example in 2020/21 of the Reds having more than six days between games.
And with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side likely to be flagging from their European exertions, Liverpool unquestionably have to take advantage and record only their 18 th ever away win against one of their fiercest rivals.
