Barcelona legend reveals why he cried against Liverpool and opens up on 'terrifying' night

Barcelona legend reveals why he cried against Liverpool and opens up on 'terrifying' night

Jordi Alba has been recalling Barcelona's infamous 4-0 Champions League defeat to Liverpool at Anfield

Former Barcelona star speaks on the Offsiders podcast

While there is still one round of games to go, it seems likely that Liverpool and Barcelona will occupy the top two positions in the new-look Champions Group group stage. As the only teams certain of their place in the round of 16, if the European heavyweights do indeed finish first and second in the table, that means the earliest they could meet would be the final in Munich on May 31.

There is a lot that could happen between now and then, of course, but the next time the Reds and Barca do go head to head, it will bring memories flooding back of the last time they faced each other.

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That was nearly five years ago now, on May 7, 2019 - a date that will forever be etched in the memory for Liverpool supporters after Jurgen Klopp's side produced one of football's greatest-ever comebacks as they overcame a 3-0 first-leg deficit to win 4-0 and book their place in the final in Madrid, which they went on to win by beating Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-0.

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It's a match that one of the Barcelona players who took to the Anfield turf that magical night has been recalling.

Jordi Alba is now an Inter Miami player, alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets, who were also part of the humbled Barca team. Busquets famously has never tweeted again since the Reds' remarkable turnaround.

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Alba was pictured sobbing in the shell-shocked visiting dressing room and now the 35-year-old, who previously won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, has opened up on an evening he will never forget.

“It’s because I wasn’t feeling well,” Alba told the Offsiders podcast via Marca. “There was a phase in the first half when I didn’t feel well. I read that I was crying.... It was because I felt bad.

“The result was unfortunate, my game wasn’t good, but these things happen. I always say that you have to try to give everything, sometimes things don’t work out.

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“That was a terrifying night, for me it was worse than the 2-8 (when Barcelona lost to Bayern Munich in the 2020 quarter-finals). I had a very bad time because the tie was on track, even there we had many chances, but it turned out like that. For me it was the hardest night.

“I was bad, I’m not going to lie to you, but these are games that you don’t expect, that shock you. Apart from that, the first goal was a back pass that I gave with all the intention in the world but it didn’t work out well. These things have happened to me many times and they haven’t ended in a goal and nothing happened.

“The bad thing is that it happened to me that day. I never like to point the finger at one or two players, it’s everyone’s business, but that night I wasn’t good, I have no qualms about admitting it. It’s a bad night.”

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