**As Liverpool prepare to host Atletico Madrid, we are reminded of their clash at Anfield in 2020, which was cruelly the beginning of the end of a potential dynasty.**
March 11th, 2020. Things could barely have been going better for the Reds.
They were at the peak of their powers under Jurgen Klopp, already romping towards a first-ever Premier League title, and first league crown of any kind for 30 years.
In the Champions League, Atletico headed to Anfield for a last-16 meeting, having beaten Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano, where the Reds had won the competition the previous year.
Despite the deficit, confidence was high that Klopp’s men would progress to the quarter-finals, with their world-class-filled side having more than enough to go through.
Unfortunately, there was one major off-field obstacle acting as a huge, world-affecting distraction: COVID-19.
There was surprise that the match even went ahead, at a time when lockdown was looming in England, and other countries had already taken that decision.
It made for a strange evening at Anfield, with the atmosphere not quite what it would have been on a normal European night, and a feeling of impending doom in the country impossible to avoid.
Liverpool actually played well, battering Atletico for large periods and winning 1-0 in 90 minutes thanks to a Gini Wijnaldum goal, meaning extra-time was required to separate the two sides.
When Roberto Firmino scored soon after the restart, it looked like Liverpool had done their job, only for Adrian to make two errors in the absence of Alisson, leading to two Marcos Llorente goals, and Alvaro Morata put the icing on the cake in the dying moments.
It was a flat loss, and it was the Reds’ final match for months, as Covid put a stop to all sport and we were all made to live out one of the strangest periods of our lives.
But it is hard not to look back at that Atletico game and wonder how differently things would have panned out if there had been no Covid at all.
Granted, it can be used as an excuse for going out to the Spaniards, but it didn’t feel quite like a normal occasion, despite Liverpool putting themselves in a winning position.
Klopp’s side were primed to win a second Champions League in a row that season – Bayern Munich were the eventual winners after the tournament format was tweaked – with no other team on their level.
The following Premier League campaign then saw Liverpool not only have to defend their crown with no fans in stadiums, but also with an endless run of fitness woes, not least Virgil van Dijk’s ACL injury at the hands of Jordan Pickford.
It all felt unfair, just as the Reds were threatening to create a dynasty like Manchester City before them, and they were never able to enjoy the level of dominance under Klopp that they deserved.
You look at Arsenal now, and it’s hard not to feel robbed as a Liverpool fan, with the Gunners now looking likely to enjoy their own period of dominance, with trophies coming regularly.
They have peaked just as their rivals have fallen away and are in transitional periods, and they are likely to enjoy more success than Klopp’s Liverpool did.
That is a travesty, given the level the Reds played at from 2018 to 2020 – at their best, few English teams in history have been superior – and it is a reminder that timing can be so lucky in sport.
Had Pep Guardiola’s City not been around, Liverpool would have won three or four Premier League titles under Klopp, and without Covid, you have to wonder if they would have cleaned up, too.
Whatever happens at home to Atletico on Wednesday night, it is hard to imagine the following weeks and months feeling as significant as they did in 2020.