Liverpool fans salute 14-year-old ball boy who helped Reds to Champions League final

While Liverpool players celebrated in front of the Kop last night, serenading the wall of red with You’ll Never Walk Alone, a few eagle-eyed supporters realised one of the heroes of the night was missing from the celebrations.

Nope, it wasn’t Jordan Henderson, whisked away to speak in front of the BT Sport cameras. Instead, it was one of the Anfield ballboys fans were fawning over. 

A number of supporters took to social media to rave about the role 14-year-old Oakley Cannonier from Leeds played in the fourth and final goal that helped Jurgen Klopp’s side complete their incredible comeback against Barcelona.  

The youngster was alert to the ball going out of play and threw a new one to Alexander-Arnold

Cannonier, who is originally from Leeds, was praised by Liverpool fans for his quick thinking 

Messaged got back to the teenager’s family, with his grandmother stating that she was ‘bursting with pride’ after spotting numerous posts on Twitter praising her grandson.  

Highlights show just how key his role was, too. His thinking was every bit as quick as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s, rolling the ball to the defender as soon as it went behind for the corner to keep the game moving as quickly as possible.

He retrieved the second ball that had rebounded on to the pitch too, allowing the game to continue and the England full back to take full advantage of the situation.

It was something that Cannonier and his team-mates had been briefed on before kick off by academy mentor Carl Lancaster. 

According to the Independent, he told the youngsters on Tuesday morning to get the ball back to those in red as quickly as possible. 

It wasn’t just those at home that noticed the importance of his contribution.

Sitting in the Virgin Media studios, Graeme Souness gave his thoughts on the quick-thinking ballboy.   

‘Watch this, we will circle him,’ he told viewers in Ireland. ‘It goes out for a corner. They are following the ball…watch the ballboy here. He is already on the spot. 

‘He [Alexander-Arnold] puts it down now. He goes to walk away and he realises there is a few dopes gone to sleep.

Cannonier poses with Alexander-Arnold, the player who he threw the ball to on Tuesday night

Cannonier’s grandmother said she was ‘bursting with pride’ on her Facebook page

Trent Alexander-Arnold took the corner and caught the Barcelona defence napping 

Graeme Souness called for the ball boy to be given two season tickets and a seat at the final 

‘They have all turned their back on it. That is criminal, criminal for a professional footballer.’

The Liverpool legend didn’t stop there either, calling for the young man to be given two season tickets and a trip to the final for his intervention.

Few Liverpool fans would disagree. 

Of course, coming through the club’s academy, Alexander-Arnold himself knows a thing or two about what makes a good ballboy.

One Twitter user pointed out that Alexander-Arnold himself had once been a ballboy 

In the aftermath of Tuesday night, one photo re-emerged of the defender sitting on the side of the pitch during Liverpool’s infamous defeat by Chelsea at the climax of the 2013-14 season. 

Speaking about his own experiences that day, the defender previously told The Times: ‘I was on the halfway line with a horrible view of what happened.’

His successor on Tuesday night will have enjoyed his experience a whole lot more – and could yet be following Alexander-Arnold on to the pitch.

Cannonier is showing some promise at the Reds’ academy in Kirby, sometimes training with those two years above his natural level.