Greetings everyone!
There's something about fans of football clubs; their support for their clubs is never unwavering, even when they see their dear club sinking into a well. Like one of my bosses always says, "As a guy, if you can support Arsenal Football Club, then you are the most faithful to a woman on earth." Why did he say that? It's because Arsenal is never (okay, recently) known for winning; they're always experiencing near-success syndrome. Take a look at what happened in the English Premier League last season; isn't it heading the same way this season? Oh, some people say it has already headed the same way.
I'll leave Arsenal alone and focus on Liverpool FC after what I saw play out last week and yesterday.
In the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League, the first leg between Liverpool and Atalanta was something else, like a magnet attracting all the shame in the world and pouring it into Anfield as Atalanta beat Liverpool 3-0. I didn't watch the match that night; I couldn't hold on and fell asleep immediately the match began. When I woke up, I quickly ran to Liverpool's Facebook page, and when I saw the scoreline, I was so surprised.
"What happened?" That was what I asked myself on the spot. For goodness' sake, the match was played at Anfield (Liverpool's home), and no one on earth would have imagined or expected such humiliation.
I went on to read the comments by Liverpool fans, and hey, I was shocked beyond imagination. They were all rooting for Liverpool to beat Atalanta in the next match.
In case you don't know, with Atalanta's three goals against Liverpool, they were leading 3-0 on aggregate, which means that for Liverpool to progress to the next stage, they must score at least four goals, and Atalanta must not score further. It wasn't going to be easy for Liverpool to go to Atalanta's home and score a whole four goals, especially when Atalanta is not sleeping on the pitch.
You read that? The Liverpool fans were all crazy, rooting for such a miracle, and not just that, they were making it informal, boasting, and banter.
Yesterday came, and Liverpool traveled to Atalanta. I didn't want to miss the game, so I stayed awake to watch, especially for the Nigerian player, Ademola Lookman. The match started with the pitch suffering the hitting. Atalantans were playing just according to their coach's instructions; they were more defensive because they knew they were leading and needed to maintain that until the end. A penalty was won in halftime, Mohamed Salah took the shot, and he scored, bringing the game to 3-1 aggregate. The home crowd was not moved; they were still leading and just needed to secure that, and the match ended like that, with Atalanta progressing to the semifinals.
I wonder how the Liverpool fans are taking the result after their full confidence and boasting.
Image source
I saw it coming because Atalanta were at it when they beat Liverpool 3-0 at their home. I knew it was totally impossible for Liverpool to overturn the game during the second leg.
If you're a Liverpool fan reading this, take heart😅.
Thanks for reading
This is for day 19 of #aprilinleo prompt.
Do well to read the full details here