The blue wall was holding firm, the visitors were relishing delaying the hosts’ bid to paint the town red, and then Liverpool’s legendary captain made a horrendous, uncharacteristic error sending an opposing striker one-on-one with the goalkeeper at the Kop end.

There are scores of football fans who believe that they have some sort of mystical power over the universe. In spite of the fact that they are in jobs they hate or can’t get into a relationship or never win the lottery, when it comes to football they believe they have the power to control the outcome of a game with lucky underpants.