Karma is a beautiful thing
Luis Suarez was doing that thing Luis Suarez does best during Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona. He was getting under the skin of just about every Liverpool player, along with all the men, women and children in Anfield and watching at home too.
Whilst his dark arts sorcery was initially effective, frustrating the likes of Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson in what was already a heated contest, it eventually backfired on the Uruguayan in just about the most spectacular way imaginable.
Towards the end of the first half, as he was making an attacking run, Suarez appeared to hesitate slightly and then exaggerate the backlift of his leg as he was moving, kicking out Liverpool’s left-back Andy Robertson as he was attempting to track the striker’s movement.
If this was anyone but Suarez you’d be forgiven for giving them the benefit of the doubt and believing it was purely accidental.
But as it was Luis Suarez, and he had already spent the entirety of the game to that point attempting to wind Jurgen Klopp’s side up, it was very obviously as intentional as the replay suggests.
Has Luis Suárez kicked out at Andy Robertson here?
The Scot goes down after a coming together with the Barcelona striker. pic.twitter.com/0TbHfRmZ1i
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2019
As a result, Klopp was forced to substitute his flying Scotsman at half-time and rejig the lineup due to the lack of another natural left-back. James Milner was sacrificed out of midfield and into the position he has played fairly well in before, whilst Georginio Wijnaldum came off the bench and into the central three for Milner.
And the rest, well. The rest is history.
It took only eleven minutes between Wijnaldum coming on at the break and the Dutch international’s second goal to level the tie on aggregate, a powerful header into the top corner after being left all alone in the area by the Barcelona back four.
After that, some incredible quick-thinking from Trent Alexander-Arnold from a corner and a confident Divock Origi finish into the roof of the net was enough to send the Reds through to their second Champions League final in two years.
Sorry Luis. The bad guys don’t always win. Never kick Andy Robertson again, Gini Wijnaldum doesn’t like it.
