The second leg of Sunday’s Capital One Cup semi-final match ended in a thriller 6-5 penalty shootut, which saw Liverpool FC cruise past Stoke City FC after the latter’s goal at Anfield drew them on aggregate.
Although Liverpool FC successfully paved their way to Wembley, there was one thing amiss during the penalty shootout. The new boss at Anfield is in a habit of running along the sidelines all along the match, but what was strange was that Klopp decided to stick to his seat during the penalty.
In his post-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp said, “No. Not superstition, it was a mixture. Usually, I want to see but with the first row of the stands, [the fans] couldn’t see anything. I can’t be on my knees for 50 minutes – I had an ACL 20 years ago and it’s still not 100 percent! That’s why I sat on a chair and you could see nothing. And it felt good, to be honest, only watching the crowd. In the end, we won without me watching and that’s good.”
Superstition? Or Not
He first showcased this particular attribute of his during the match against Bordeaux in November, when James Milner stepped up on the spot to strike the equalising penalty and he stayed glued to his seat rather than being on the sidelines where we’re more used to seeing him.
Milner equalised, Benteke gave them the lead and Liverpool entered the round of 32 of the Europa League where they face FC Augsburg. Although Jurgen Klopp denied having stuck to his seat out of superstition, even if it was so, it seems to be working for his side.
Liverpool FC have also reached the finals of the English Cup and will be competing for the title against Manchester City FC, who ascended to the finals after a 3-1 (4-3 on aggregate) win over Everton. The final match of the Capital One Cup is scheduled for 28th February.
They don’t enjoy a very comfortable league position sitting in the 7th spot — 8 points behind Tottenham Hotspur who are 4th on the table, and 13 points behind the league leaders Leicester City, with 15 games to go.