Liverpool fans knew that April was going to be the month that would stretch them

Liverpool fans knew that April was going to be the month that would stretch them logistically. After all, they are already having to travel down to Wembley and back next week without the aid of Easter weekend trains.

But they probably didn't expect there to be nearly as many issues getting to Lisbon this week for their Champions League quarter-final first leg with Benfica. Staff shortages at Manchester airport made the journey to Portugal a treacherous one for hundreds of Reds fans, with flights delayed for hours across both Sunday and Monday.

Delays of up to three, four and five hours before Wednesday made it a difficult trip for so many and they were only confronted with more problems when they eventually got to the Estadio da Luz on the day of the game.

Scores of supporters were made to enter the ground in single file during rigours and aggressive searches carried out by Portuguese police on the night. Several have spoken of their feeling of unease outside the stadium when confronted with a force who appeared to be expecting anger and even violence from a fanbase who just wanted to get inside the stadium.

I know it's left many feeling that European away trips may no longer be worth the hassle and cost going forward, which is a crying shame for a fanbase who have been raised on tales of continental conquests.

Those caught up in the chaos estimated the numbers to be at over 1000, although club sources on the ground that night believe it to be closer to around 400. Either way, it was not how it was supposed to be after the 3,000 or so supporters who had made the journey over had enjoyed an otherwise perfect couple of days in the capital. Some did not get into the match until around 15 minutes after the game had kicked