Liverpool have been blessed by the lady of luck after landing bottom feeder Porto in the Champions League draw.
Jurgen Klopp will have the Reds are raring to go as if they were facing Manchester City in the final, but drawing the perceived easiest opponent left in the tournament is yet another sign of the ball bouncing just the *way* Liverpool need it to exactly *when* they need it to
Earlier in the season, we wrote about how Liverpool’s current title run is not only driven forward by their elite play and determination, but also that little sprinkle of luck that all champions need.
As the old saying goes, whether it be English football or the American kind, “it’s a game of inches”, which is really just a fancy way of saying sometimes you need to get lucky. And more times than not this season, the Reds have gotten lucky.
There was Daniel Sturridge’s late-winner at Chelsea and Riyad Mahrez’s missed penalty at Anfield. There were Xherdan Shaqiri’s two deflected goals against United, and of course, Divock Origi’s 96th-minute winner against Everton.
While the haters and doubters will be quick to contest that luck cannot be relied upon, it’s important to remember that good luck is when opportunity meets preparation and that’s exactly what happened when Liverpool drew Porto in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The Reds – who are currently in the midst of a heated Premier League title race, not sure if you’ve heard – have had to scratch and claw their way through every single round of this year’s competition.
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Drawn into the Group of Death with the likes of PSG and Napoli, Liverpool found themselves in a must-win situation heading into the sixth and final matchday of the group stage as they were faced with what amounted to a knockout game against the Italian giants from Naples.
And they delivered thanks to – that’s right, you guessed it – a somewhat lucky goal from Mo Salah that only trickled through David Ospina’s legs because the soccer gods willed it so … because opportunity met preparation.
Then came the Round of 16, when the Reds found themselves drawn against Bayern Munich, a staple in the Champions League semifinals and a considerable thorn in Klopp’s side for the better part of the last decade.
Then, following a heroic first-leg effort at Anfield where Liverpool held Robert Lewandowski and the newly rejuvenated Bavarians at bay without the other-worldly services of Virgil van Dijk, the Premier League contenders then strolled into Munich and dominated the Bundesliga champions in what can only be described as a famous European performance.
And now, as it has happened so many times before during this magical season, luck became Liverpool’s lady once again as the mighty Reds drew FC Porto, a familiar foe who they absolutely vanquished in last year’s tournament by an aggregate score of 5-0.
Now, to be clear, while the Portuguese powerhouses are not to be slept on, there’s no denying that the Dragões was the apple of everyone’s eye heading into the quarterfinal draw.
Make no mistake about it, Klopp will have the Reds as raring to go as if they were facing Manchester City in the final, but drawing the perceived easiest opponent left in the tournament is yet another sign of the ball (whether it be a literal soccer ball or the Champions League draw ping pong ball) bouncing just the way Liverpool need it to exactly when they need it to.
It’s another sign that we’re in the midst of a magical season.