When Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Wednesday night, the Bernabeu stadium had Liverpool's iconic anthem of You'll Never Walk Alone playing out across the speakers.
Real Madrid normally play their anthem Hala Madrid after every home fixture, but, as soon as the full-time whistle sounded, You'll Never Walk Alone instead started to sound out across the stadium.
Liverpool's 1800 travelling fans joined in with the singing of the song, serenading their players despite the 6-2 aggregate loss.
Fans have been left confused by the act, though, with some questioning the intentions behind the music, while others are conflicted about their thoughts on what occurred.
Some believed Real Madrid playing the song was intended to humiliate Liverpool, after knocking them out of the Champions League and ending the club's hopes of silverware this season.
One supporter is certainly in two minds about the incident, though.
"Real Madrid playing 'You’ll Never Walk Alone' at full time is either a really nice touch or incredible s***housery," they wrote on social media.
However, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti clarified that playing You'll Never Walk Alone at the Bernabeu after the game was intended as a respectful gesture to Liverpool, after the Reds honoured former Real player Amancio - who died on February 21, 2023 - during the first leg of the tie.
"They honored Amancio in the first leg and it's a fair gesture from our club towards them," Ancelotti stated after the game.
Jurgen Klopp also took the playing of Liverpool's anthem in good faith, recognising the respect between the two clubs despite the rivalry that has built up over the past half-decade.
"We are two heavyweights who meet each other quite frequently in international football," Klopp said during his post-match press conference.
"I think it's clear we respect each other a lot and, whoever played You'll Never Walk Alone, it's a really nice gesture."
Karim Benzema scored the game's only goal on Wednesday night to end Liverpool's hopes of a comeback in the tie, placing the ball into an empty net after a fortuitous break for Vinicius Junior.
Los Blancos head into the quarter-finals of the Champions League once again, where they will face either Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli, Manchester City, Chelsea, Benfica or Bayern Munich. The draw for the quarters will take place on Friday.
