Liverpool learns that it's not always enough



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Fandom is based on a comforting creed. Fans – of all teams, of all sports – believe that they have the power, that they can make the difference, that they participate in one way or the other. another to events rather than mere observers. It would be too much to call it an illusion: to football, where statistics suggest that the home advantage is much more marked than in most other sports, among others. However, it is still likely that the noise generated by the crowd, the atmosphere it creates, is only a small part of what determines the results.

This is even true in clubs like Liverpool, where the reputation of fans is fetishized. (Last month, Arsène Wenger, no less, described Anfield as the most "heated" stadium in Europe, the "only place you do not want to go" for a Champions League return match.) The idea of the power of the fans exceeds the reality of it.

The power, however, is not the same as the agency. Liverpool supporters had decorated their homes and themselves, in red and white, and they had rallied in front of Anfield to scream at their heroes, and they had followed Klopp's instructions to support their team until they were ready. at the end, but they knew no one in Merseyside had an agency. What Liverpool did, what Anfield did, depended on someone else. The agency team was in blue sky and was playing against Brighton. Liverpool would learn his destiny from his phones.

Liverpool dreamed for 21 minutes to be champion: 21 minutes separating Liverpool Mané giving the advantage to Wolves and Aymeric Laporte scoring Manchester City's second goal in Brighton, he led to a comfortable 4-1 win that confirmed Pep Guardiola's team as the first to retain the Premier League title in a decade. The news of this goal was relayed by oddly jubilant Wolves fans who mocked their guests.

Anfield did not groan. He did not burst into tears. He did not develop in a painful way. Slowly, instead, he deflated. "Fingers crossed for an equalizer," said George Sephton, the stadium's announcer at halftime, as he read Brighton's score. The atmosphere was calm, the crowd excited to no longer sing in front of the pain signaled by two other goals of Manchester City, and to celebrate – with a sincere emotion, the second for Mane.

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