MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
As Liverpool revisit the venue where they won their fourth European Cup, the fifth may have a greater pertinence. In Istanbul in 2005, just as in Rome in 1984, they prevailed on penalties with the aid of a wobbly-kneed goalkeeper’s antics in the shoot-out.
Yet that will not be relevant; not unless Roma win 5-2 on Tuesday. If history often offers Liverpool encouragement, this time it provides a warning. Roma needed a 3-0 home win against Barcelona in the quarter-finals and got one. Liverpool know from the 2005 final that three-goal fightbacks may be improbable, but they are not impossible. They mustered one.
Their alumni can illustrate the psychology of a comeback. They can testify to the fearlessness when one side has nothing to lose and the confusion when the other's certain victory is suddenly in doubt. Rafa Benitez produced a tactical masterstroke at half time against AC Milan, replacing injured defender Steve Finnan with midfielder Dietmar Hamann and switching from 4-4-1-1 to 3-4-2-1. "We knew if we scored the first goal, we stood a chance," the Spaniard wrote in Champions League Dreams. "If we scored first, I told the players, anything could happen."
Anything did. "Rafa helped change our mood from defeat to defiance," wrote Steven Gerrard in his autobiography. Liberated in a more attacking role, he duly got that first goal. "Before they caught their breath, we had to go for the jugular," the captain added. Liverpool did. Vladimir Smicer scored a second. At 3-2, "our momentum was such that an equaliser was inevitable," Jamie Carragher wrote in Carra. Xabi Alonso delivered it. "Their three-goal advantage had been washed out," Carragher added. "Psychologically, we had the upper hand." It was a six-minute demonstration of how to transform a tie.
That AC Milan side boasted experience in abundance; few seemed less likely to lose a three-goal lead. Yet if Roma’s past ought to offer them encouragement, Liverpool can take succour from their own. They beat Manchester City 3-0 in the quarter-final first leg, went to the Etihad Stadium and won 2-1. They did so despite conceding in the second minute. Their inexperienced defence weathered huge pressure in the first half. Their forwards broke away to score in the second.
That attacking intent will be crucial. Roma have not conceded in five home Champions League games, but Liverpool's 88-goal front three can trouble anyone, let alone a side who were tactically naïve and individually fallible last week when the newly-crowned double Footballer of the Year Mohamed Salah played a pivotal part in four goals. They have the pace to prosper on the counter-attack. "We are looking to go there and win," said right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, striking the right note.
As Roma know, Liverpool are a momentum team who can score in spurts. The concern is that they can also concede in them: two in five minutes to the Serie A side last week, two in nine to West Bromwich Albion three days earlier, two in 11 against Manchester United and against Tottenham Hotspur, two in five against Albion at Anfield, two in seven against City in the league.
Many, but not all, of those minutes of mayhem have come late in games, when Liverpool may have been exhausted by the intensity of their start. Perhaps, if they press less than usual, that will be different in the Stadio Olimpico. Yet if they need reserves of energy, they do not possess enough reserves with quality. Shorn of Emre Can and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jurgen Klopp is running out of players. While Adam Lallana is back in the squad, his options, if Liverpool are hanging on, probably only consists of bringing on Ragnar Klavan and switching to three centre-backs.
Another centre-back should assume more importance. Virgil van Dijk was partly at fault for Gabriel Jesus’ early opener at the Etihad Stadium. Thereafter, however, the world’s most expensive defender was a colossus. Champions League semi-finals have tended to bring defiance from the Liverpool rearguard. “We survived because of one man – Jamie Carragher,” Gerrard wrote of the 2005 meeting with Chelsea. “I saw a man hell-bent on not letting the lead slip.”
It may be the attitude Liverpool need again, forging old-school determination with the modernist counter-attacking Klopp has implemented. The sense before the last round was that if Liverpool scored away at City, then they would progress. Now similar sentiments may be voiced. Yet a team who can specialise in the unpredictable must be wary of it. A team who overwhelm opponents with flurries of goals must ensure they are not given a taste of their own medicine. They have to avoid an inverse Istanbul.
_______________
Read more:
Ian Hawkey: Roma have shown they are capable of staging seismic comebacks
Dietmar Hamann: Liverpool can use Champions League momentum to push Manchester City harder next season
Mohamed Salah's hot streak propels him towards Premier League scoring records
Jurgen Klopp: Roberto Firmino 'won't be the last' to commit future to Liverpool
Opinion: Mo Salah is shattering stereotypes and winning hearts and minds
_______________
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Paris%20Agreement
%3Cp%3EArticle%2014%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E1.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20periodically%20take%20stock%20of%20the%20implementation%20of%20this%20Agreement%20to%20assess%20the%20collective%20progress%20towards%20achieving%20the%20purpose%20of%20this%20Agreement%20and%20its%20long-term%20goals%20(referred%20to%20as%20the%20%22global%20stocktake%22)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20undertake%20its%20first%20global%20stocktake%20in%202023%20and%20every%20five%20years%20thereafter%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
