Fans of Liverpool have praised the influence of someone who did not even play against Barcelona in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final.
It was an unnamed ballboy whose quick thinking helped get a new ball back to Trent Alexander-Arnold seconds before the defender whipped in a corner for Divock Origi to score the decisive goal in a 4-0 second-leg win and send them into the final.
Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness said the ballboy should be given two season tickets or a ticket to the Champions League final for his contribution.
“Watch this, we will circle him,” Souness explained on Irish television. “It goes out for a corner. They are following the ball… watch the ballboy here.
“He is already on the spot.
“He [Alexander-Arnold] puts it down now. He goes to walk away and he realises there is a few dopes gone to sleep.
“They have all turned their back on it. That is criminal, criminal for a professional footballer.”
Liverpool supporters similarly noticed the ballboy’s impact, and they made it clear he deserves to be rewarded for playing a vital role in the victory.
Someone give this lad a ticket to the Final!
https://t.co/HBWe8mYqVJ
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) May 8, 2019
Liverpool travel to Madrid for their second European Cup final, though a huge number of fans are likely to miss out on a ticket for the June 1 showpiece as the Reds have been allocated just 17,000 seats.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
