REDS ON END OF A MADRID MAULING
Liverpool needing another Anfield miracle to progress
IT will have to be another one of those special European nights at Anfield. A very special night, really. Can they do it without the Kop, without that famous roar to inspire them, and suck the ball towards goal?
These clubs share 19 Champions League and European Cup trophies, but that statistic flatters Liverpool. More than two-thirds — 13 — belong to Madrid. Given a two-goal firstleg lead, their personnel will not be fazed by circumstances.
Just as they were not fazed when Liverpool got an away goal. Having been outplayed for 45 minutes, Liverpool started the second half 2-0 down but looked a different team. Whatever Jurgen Klopp said had worked.
Lucas Vazquez was booked for a foul on Diogo Jota and suddenly the hosts were under pressure. Georginio Wijnaldum fed a pass into Jota, whose shot was blocked but fell into the path of Mohamed Salah, whose sharp finish was his 27th goal of the season.
A comeback looked possible. A team who had performed so poorly in the first half now looked capable of levelling, perhaps even winning. And that is where Madrid’s experience shows. They can play possession football, they stay calm, they strike on the counterattack if given a sniff. And Liverpool gave far too many sniffs.
So it was that, in the 65th minute, Luka Modric played a square pass on the edge of the penalty area to Vinicius Junior, allowed far too much room by Nathaniel Phillips. The Brazilian — Madrid’s youngest goalscorer in the knockout stage since Raul in 1996 — sized up the space, the goal and the gap between Phillips’ outstretched legs and put the ball smartly into the corner of the net for 3-1.
Yes, a 2-0 home win will be enough, and Liverpool put four past Barcelona not so long ago. Yet that was a full house, Anfield in all its glory. Liverpool will need to find the strength within. Last night’s evidence suggested Madrid have a bit of that, too.
Klopp told BT Sport afterwards: ‘If you want to go to the semi-final, you have to earn the right to do so. We didn’t do that tonight, especially in the first half.
‘The only good thing I can say, apart from the goal, is it’s only the first half of the tie.
‘We just didn’t play good enough football to cause Real Madrid more problems.
‘We made it too easy for them. These mistakes can happen. We didn’t deserve a lot more but that one goal and the second half was okay. It gives us a lifeline.’
The first half was shocking. Who imagined Liverpool could play this poorly? They created no chances, gave the ball away with depressing regularity, the defence was a shambles.
Those who had gone into battle for Trent Alexander-Arnold over his England omission were red-faced.
Real Madrid were two goals clear and it could have been more. Klopp must have been delighted to get his players in at half-time to regroup, or simply remind them what Champions League football is about.
They were caught out by long balls, quick running, counterattacks, crosses. A back four that looked to have finally settled were suddenly strangers. Yet Liverpool were fancied after such a competent display against RB Leipzig.
That Klopp was making changes in midfield three minutes before half-time shows how unnerving it was. He had selected Naby Keita ahead of Thiago Alcantara but, before half-time, reversed that decision. Was Keita injured? He didn’t look it. He did, however, look all at sea.
On replacing Keita, Klopp insisted: ‘It’s not a big story. It was tactical. I could have done a few more changes in that moment.’
From the second minute, Madrid were on the front foot. Karim Benzema tried a shot that was easily saved by Alisson.
The next chance, on 13 minutes, saw Ferland Mendy speed down the left to leave Alexander-Arnold trailing. He crossed for Vinicius, who steered a header just wide.
Liverpool’s right-back was failing to cope with the pace of Madrid.
Rattled, he gave the ball away on 25 minutes, allowing Benzema to break, put off at the vital moment by a challenge from Ozan Kabak. It was a rare moment of strong, quality defending.
Within two minutes, Liverpool fell apart.
Toni Kroos played a long ball forward, Vinicius took it on his chest and, with one touch, took Phillips out of the game. A low shot past Alisson did the rest.
To think it had been argued Liverpool would handily exploit Madrid’s injuries in defence. No Sergio Ramos, no Raphael Varane, isolated at home with Covid.
Instead Liverpool appeared naive, unprepared. Five minutes later, a Benzema pass from the right found Vinicius, whose shot deflected wide.
Worse was to come. In the 36th minute, another Kroos ball over the top brought inexplicable panic and Alexander-Arnold made an ambitious attempt to head it back towards Alisson, diving full stretch. It fell short, read perfectly by Marco Asensio, who nipped in, clipped it around the keeper and tapped it into an empty net.
Liverpool were in disarray. Sadio Mane was booked for arguing Madrid’s move started with a foul on him by Lucas Vazquez. Referee Felix Brych was having none of it, rightly, and neither was the VAR.
REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Courtois 6; Vazquez 7, Militao 6, Nacho 7, Mendy 7; Kroos 8, Casemiro 8, Modric 8; Asensio 8 (Valverde 70), Benzema 8, Vinicius 9 (Rodrygo 85). Subs not used: Altube, Lunin, Marcelo, Chust, Odriozola, Arribas, Isco, Mariano. Booked: Vazquez. LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 6; Alexander-Arnold 5, Kabak 4 (Shaqiri 81), Phillips 5, Robertson 6; Wijnaldum 6, Fabinho 6, Keita 4 (Thiago 42); Mane 5, Jota 5 (Firmino 81), Salah 6. Subs not used: Adrian, H Davies, B Davies, Williams, Tsimikas, Cain, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Milner. Booked: Mane, Thiago, AlexanderArnold. Man of the match: Vinicius Junior. Referee: Felix Brych.