Liverpool vs AS Roma Tickets

Liverpool are veterans when it comes to successful European campaigns, indeed only Real Madrid and AC Milan have won the top-tier UEFA tournament more than the Reds (as of 2023), but regardless of that history, the visit of AS Roma to Anfield will certainly provide a real test for the Premier League side.

Liverpool’s most dominant period in the European Cup, prior to its rebranded successor, the UEFA Champions League, came through the late 1970s and in the mid-1980s. Bill Shankly is rightly considered the instigator of much of their success, but during his 15-year reign in charge, the club never got past the Semi-Final of the tournament, though they did win the UEFA Cup in this period.

Shankly’s replacement Sir Bob Paisley had the base from which to work from, and he made sure that Liverpool delivered on their potential. He secured back-to-back wins in the competition in 1976/77 and 1977/78 with wins over Borussia Monchengladbach and Club Brugge.

Surprisingly in the next two editions of the tournament, they suffered First Round exits, first to Nottingham Forest and then Dinamo Tbilisi.

1981 saw a return to form and a third crown, this time at the expense of Real Madrid. Paisley stepped down in 1983, and his replacement, Joe Fagan, took up where he left off. In 1983/84, they beat AS Roma in the final, and the following year they once again reached the same phase, this time losing to Juventus.

They spent the next six years out of European competition due to the ban handed to British clubs following the Heysel disaster, and they didn’t return to the UEFA Champions League until 2001/02.

Rafa Benitez, brought in from Valencia, experienced a similar level of instant success to Fagan, winning the competition following that iconic night in Istanbul when Liverpool battled back 3-0 down to beat AC Milan.

He got them back to the final two years later, but this time lost out to AC Milan in Athens. It was Jurgen Klopp who helped Liverpool to return to those heights, first suffering a UEFA Champions League Final defeat to Real Madrid in 2018 before returning the following year to dispose of Tottenham Hotspur 2-0.

AS Roma have also had a measure of success in the competition, albeit not in any tangible manner. The Giallorossi have never won the tournament but did, of course, lose to Liverpool in the final in 1984.

Quarter-Final exits in 2007 and 2008, both to Manchester United was the best they managed prior to a Semi-Final defeat to Liverpool in 2018, and they will hope to not, once again, lose the team from Merseyside.

Liverpool vs AS Roma Head-to-Head

Liverpool and AS Roma have experienced a series of iconic European clashes, the first of which came in the European Cup Final of 1984.

That match actually took place at AS Roma’s home ground, as the Stadio Olimpico had already been chosen to host the game. Phil Neal and Roberto Pruzzo netted in a close 1-1 draw before the game went to penalties, and Liverpool keeper Bruce Grobelaar made it his mission to put off the opposing teams' penalty takers, with some success.

Both Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani missed their penalties, and Liverpool won through 4-2.

In 2000/01, on Liverpool’s route to winning the UEFA Cup, they overcame AS Roma 2-1 on aggregate in the Fourth Round. They met the following season in the UEFA Champions League group phase, with Liverpool earning a point from their trip to Rome and winning the Anfield reverse fixture 2-0 thanks to goals from Jari Litmanen and Emile Heskey.

In 2017/18, Liverpool thumped AS Roma 5-2 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Semi-Final, with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino both scoring twice. In return, the Italians won 4-2, but that wasn’t enough to prevent an exit.

Liverpool vs AS Roma Connections

A number of top talents have played for both Liverpool and AS Roma, including Italian forward Fabio Borini, full-back John Arne Riise, midfielder Alberto Aquilani and Brazilian keeper Alisson.

The most successful player to appear for both teams is, however, undoubtedly Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian struggled to break into the first-team set up at Chelsea and was first loaned to Fiorentina before spending a season on loan at Roma, during which he impressed greatly, securing a permanent transfer.

In two seasons with AS Roma, Salah scored 34 goals in 83 appearances before Jurgen Klopp convinced the attacker to move to Liverpool.

He became an instant hit with the fans, and over the course of his first six seasons, Salah racked up 186 goals in 305 games, playing a crucial role in both Premier League and UEFA Champions League triumphs and is rightly considered one of the best players to have ever played for the club.