It is a moment now etched in Anfield folklore. With Liverpool tied with Barcelona on aggregate, and a place in the Champions League final at stake, Trent Alexander-Arnold attempted the cheekiest of corners.
Liverpool had clearly worked on the routine as Barca was caught napping and Divock Origi reacted quickest to poke the ball into the net. The goal sparked wild celebrations in front of the Kop as Liverpool completed a seemingly impossible second-leg comeback.
The Reds would go on to beat Tottenham in the final but none of it would have been possible without the help of a young ball boy.
Then-academy player Oakley Cannonier quickly returned a ball to Alexander-Arnold while Barca’s players retreated into their defensive positions. He was lauded as a result and it later transpired that Liverpool staff members had ‘coached’ the ball boys and girls before the semi-final clash.
It is a tactic used by Pep Guardiola too, with the Manchester City boss previously demanding the ball be returned to his players quicker to ensure a high tempo is maintained. But now, the Premier League is cracking down on such a game plan.
According to the Daily Mail, ball boys and girls will no longer be able to be in direct contact with players to avoid teams gaining an advantage. The ruling will come in with immediate effect, with balls instead placed on plastic cones around the pitch. Two of the 14 balls will be behind each goal, with five along each side of the pitch.
The ‘ball assistants’ will now only be able to retrieve the balls and place them on the cones, and may even be required to sit away from the perimeter of the pitch.
Cannonier, now 19, was just 14 when he claimed the ‘pre-assist’ and remains on Liverpool’s books. He told the club’s official website in 2022: “Liverpool was obviously getting beat, so the assistant manager told our coach Carl that the ball needs to be in rapid for the intensity of the game and stuff because we were 3-0 down. Everything had to be quick and you had to get the ball back on the pitch.
“It still is a bit mad. People getting in touch on social media calling me a Liverpool legend. It does make me feel proud, it is a massive moment but I want to be a footballer, not a ball boy.”
Liverpool.com says: Whether or not Liverpool would have beaten Barcelona without the ball boy ‘tactic’ is unclear but it will go down as one of Anfield’s greatest ever moments. The Premier League is clearly keen to crack down though and the rule comes in following the recent unsavory clash between Wolves and Coventry.
