Anfield and Champions League encounters. Name a better match.Liverpool’s home has been the setting for some classic encounters over the years.Barcelona in 2019. Borussia Dortmund in 2016. Chelsea in 2005. Liverpool supporters will remember those nights fondly.Attending a European encounter at Anfield has become a bucket list ambition for many of the club’s supporters.And with good reason. The pre-match rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is always a spine-tingling affair that provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
So, what are the very best Champions League affairs in Liverpool’s history?We weren’t shot of options when deciding upon the best 10 for the latest in our Tuesday Top 10 series.We have included European Cup affairs, too.10. Liverpool 5-2 Roma2018 Champions League semi-final first legLiverpool were the favourites entering their game against Roma two years ago, but nobody imagined them romping into a 5-0 lead inside 68 minutes.They conceded two late goals and lost the return fixture 4-2, but this was still a dominant showing from the Reds.
9. Liverpool 2-1 Juventus
2005 Champions League quarter-final first leg
Liverpool and Juventus went head-to-head for the first time since the Heysel stadium disaster on a night charged with raw emotion in 2005.
Juve’s side included a host of stats, including Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Pavel Nedved, Alessandro Del Piero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Liverpool took control through goals in the first half from Sami Hyypia and Luis Garcia.
Cannavaro pulled a goal back in the second half but a 0-0 draw in Turin sent Liverpool through to the semi-final.
We all know what happened after that.
8. Liverpool 3-0 Man City
2018 Champions League quarter-final first leg
Liverpool were marching towards the Premier League title and had the Champions League in their sights when they travelled to Anfield for the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
But they were completely torn apart by Jurgen Klopp’s side, who led 3-0 after 31 minutes thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane.
The Reds booked their place in the final four with a 2-1 win at the Etihad.
7. Liverpool 2-0 Roma
Champions League group stages, 2002
Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier had undergone life-saving emergency heart surgery three months before welcoming Roma to Anfield.
The Reds needed to overcome their Italian opponents by a two-goal margin to reach the quarter-finals, and they managed it. Jari Litmanen and Emile Heskey got on the scoresheet in an emotional night.
6. Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
2007 Champions League semi-final second leg
Events two years prior had created a tense rivalry between Liverpool and Chelsea.
Thankfully, we got another meeting between the two sides in 2007 and they delivered another fine encounter.
Chelsea led 1-0 from the first leg but Daniel Agger levelled things up from a well-worked free-kick.
The tie went to a penalty shootout and Dirk Kuyt stroked home the winner to leave Jose Mourinho disappointed. Again.
5. Liverpool 3-1 Olympiacos
Champions League group stages, 2004
“Lovely cushioned header for GERRARD. Oooooh you beauty, what a hit son, what a hit!”
Liverpool needed three second-half goals to avoid exiting at the group stages in 2004.
Neil Mellor and Florent Sinama-Pongolle scored to set up Steven Gerrard’s monumental moment, thundering the ball home from distance.
This was a huge match. Gerrard might well have left Liverpool had they not gone through, but his strike was the platform for their rise to becoming European heavyweights.
4. Liverpool 3-1 Inter Milan
1965 European Cup semi-final first leg
Bill Shankly’s Reds were attempting to become the first English side to win the European Cup.
Having won the FA Cup three days earlier, belief soared when Roger Hunt scored after just three minutes against the Italians.
Liverpool won 3-1 and Shankly called it possibly the greatest Liverpool performance during his reign.
He never forgot or forgave for what happened in the return leg, though.
Spanish referee Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendibil has been suspected of match-fixing after allowing a Milan goal from an indirect free-kick and wrongly disallowing a Liverpool goal.
The Reds were beaten 3-0 at the San Siro, but the memories of the first leg remain.
3. Liverpool 3-1 St Etienne
1977 European Cup quarter-final second leg
Liverpool needed to score twice after losing 1-0 in the first leg and they managed three goals, with David Fairclough’s late strike securing their place in the semis.
The Reds went on to win the competition for the first time in their history.
2. Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
2005 Champions League semi-final second leg
Ah, Luis Garcia’s ‘Ghost Goal’.
Still spoken about all these years later, it’s one of the most iconic moments in Liverpool’s history.
After a 20-year absence from the European Cup final, Liverpool were back.
The rest is history.
1. Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
2019 Champions League semi-final second leg
Liverpool will never, ever count themselves out after this miraculous win.
Their hopes of getting redemption after the 2018 disappointment looked over when Barcelona beat them 3-0 in the first leg at the Camp Nou.
They were without Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino for the second match, but got vital contributions from Georginio Wijnaldum and Divock Origi, both of whom scored twice, to send Lionel Messi packing.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quickly-taken corner led to Origi’s winning goal and Klopp’s side defeated Tottenham in the final to claim their sixth European Cup win.