Delays and confusion set the tone for Liverpool’s disappointment in Paris

Sadio Mané stood with his arms folded, weight on one foot, his features loaded with frustration and disdain. The Liverpool forward looked a little like the punter being ignored at the bar but he was actually about to play a Champions League final against Real Madrid.

Behind him in the tunnel at the Stade de France, Mohamed Salah was perfectly still, eyes shut, trying to remain focused; to process it all, perhaps. Because this really ought not to have been happening.

It was 9.30pm Parisian time on Saturday, the final having been delayed initially by 15 minutes and then a further 15 as chaos took hold outside the ground, thousands of Liverpool fans having been locked out – and placed into a dangerous situation – as the authorities failed on so many levels.

Now, at last, the team was about to enter, although it was difficult to get too excited because thoughts were elsewhere – specifically around Gate Y, which had been closed, an alarming bottleneck forming. Mané and Salah were Exhibits A & B for the body language experts but what was in their minds, and those of their teammates, ahead of the biggest game in club football?

Liverpool had been out to warm up and they would go out again at 9.06pm after the delay was first announced. They could not fail to have noticed that it was the end housing their supporters – most likely including their family and friends – which contained the empty seats. The Real enclosure had been packed for some time.

Andy Robertson, the Liverpool left-back, makes the point that “obviously none of us were on our phones” in the dressing room. But if the game was being delayed because of a security issue and the players could see that it was plainly affecting the Liverpool section, it feels reasonable