Tuesday marked the return to Anfield for former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso kept to the Anfield tradition by touching the ‘This is Anfield’ sign ahead of his return to L4. The Spaniard has previously featured for the Reds in charity matches but never managed a comeback in opposition colours after leaving.
Arne Slot’s side were looking to continue their unbeaten start to the new-look Champions League campaign and standing in their way were the German Invincibles, after Alonso steered them to a historic league and cup double in an unbeaten domestic campaign.
The midfielder’s career was littered with trophies, including a European Cup and FA Cup win during his time as a Liverpool player. Following the announcement of Jurgen Klopp’s departure at the end of last season, Alonso was quickly installed as the favourite to replace him, but he quickly ruled himself out as Leverkusen chased immortality.
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There was a lot of coverage surrounding Alonso and his return to Merseyside this week. Ahead of kick-off, he touched the ‘This is Anfield’ sign in the tunnel, as he did so many times for the Reds.
The 42-year-old opted against talking up the atmosphere from the Kop ahead of their visit. He told Amazon Prime Sports: “Not too much (focus on the atmosphere); we need to prepare for the game as another one.
“More focus on the opponent; for sure there is a moment when Anfield gets up that you need to have a plan, let’s see. If that moment doesn’t come, it’s mainly about football, our idea, preparing the game; we’re playing against a Liverpool team the best in Europe, and they’re showing that in the Champions League and Premier League at the moment.
“Very demanding, but for us, it’s a great game.”
Prior to Klopp’s arrival at Anfield, there was a spell without silverware, and the German moved to ban players from touching the iconic sign before kick-off. In the early days of his tenure, he said: “I’ve told my players not to touch the ‘This Is Anfield’ sign until they win something.
“It’s a sign of respect. I touched it when I was manager of Borussia Dortmund, but we lost 4-0.”
