Jurgen Klopp’s aspirations of playing Liverpool’s final game at Wembley Stadium have been dashed after a 4-3 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
In a quarter-final classic at Old Trafford, the Reds rallied from a goal down through Alexis MacAllister and Mohamed Salah before Antony scored a late equaliser to send the game into extra time.
After Harvey Elliott tied it 3-2, Marcus Rashford equalized before Amad Diallo scored the winner in stoppage time.
Of course, you were already aware of all of this. What you may have missed were a number of intriguing subplots at Old Trafford.
Salah’s restraint is admirable.
Mohamed Salah, head bent in defeat, walked from the replacements’ bench to the players’ tunnel following the final whistle.
However, the journey back to the dressing room was filled with difficulties as Salah and his teammates navigated their way past the jubilant United supporters.
The Egyptian, whose 13th goal in 14 games versus United made it 2-1 on the day, was confronted by one particularly rowdy fan who decided to celebrate the historic triumph by filming the Liverpool contingent passing past them.
The ecstatic fan made sure to point a finger at Salah and laugh in his face, despite the Liverpool star’s admirable refusal to take the bait.
Despite appearing to be confronted with a real-life version of The Simpsons’ Nelson Muntz, Salah disregarded the unseemly provocation before Andy Robertson was labeled a “f****** idiot” by the fan in question. Naturally, this is a classy way to celebrate a huge victory.
Van Dijk lets the linesman know
Before Marcus Rashford completed a move that brought the score to 3-3, the United striker squandered what appeared to be a golden opportunity in the first period of extra time.
After appearing to avoid the offside trap, the striker smashed a shot wide of Caoimhin Kelleher’s right-hand post before the referee’s assistant finally raised the flag.
Clearly upset by the delayed raising of the flag, which has become routine in football in recent years, Liverpool’s captain marched towards the linesman, pointing two fingers at him in allusion to the number of times Rashford had been offside.
Van Dijk expressed his dissatisfaction emphatically, stating that the offside ruling should have been made much earlier. However, the guidelines must be observed, no matter how frustrating they are to the players.
And the crowd turns mild.
Liverpool’s arrival at Old Trafford is generally accompanied by loud boos and deafening fumes from Manchester United fans.
However, there was a sharp contrast on Sunday afternoon as the Reds’ squad bus arrived at their archrivals’ home. As Klopp and his players exited the car and proceeded to the entrance, the United fans who had gathered to greet them were abnormally quiet.
According to those present, rather than being met with rage and frothing from the Red Devils’ supporters, there was little more than eerie indifference.
It was an unworthy welcome for such a fierce rivalry, with one witness describing the reaction to Liverpool’s arrival as “ridiculous” for how bland it was. Naturally, it warmed up with time.
