As the Reds’ team bus crawled through traffic on its way to the Stadio Olimpico for the first leg of their last-16 tie in February 2001, a path was opened up by an escort from local policemen particularly eager to see the visitors arrive without disruption.

The reason? They supported Roma’s city rivals Lazio.

But their intervention proved the only assistance Gerard Houllier’s soon-to-be treble heroes would need on a night when they revealed to the whole of Europe their credentials as potential tournament winners with a 2-0 conquest.