TWO SPRAYED GIANTS
When the draw took these teams to the round of 16 immediately after the group stage, few could have imagined that they would arrive at the meeting in such a broken state. This is especially true for the Merseysiders who have fallen into an institutional crisis and are bogged down in the middle of the Premier League table. So both coaches put out straws before the game, praising each other. And Carlo Ancelotti also said that while he was working at Everton, he was stuck in Liverpool during the pandemic and exchanged messages with Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool began to recover in the last week, they beat Everton and Newcastle 2-0 and the Champions League anthem, which for some reason the local fans tried very hard to shout in a low voice, was found in the well-known Stefan Baycetic ( he is now the youngest). holder of Liverpool in the Champions League) in the midline and Cody Gakpo in the center of attack. At the same time, Klopp left Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino in the reserves.
As for Real Madrid, they were preparing to play in the same way as in the Champions League final last year: a low defensive block that did not allow the ball to be thrown behind the defenders’ backs. In that sense, high-speed Rodrigo appeared on the right flank of the attack, and Federico Valverde, who periodically went out there, dropped into the midfield, displacing Toni Kroos from there.
THE HEEL OF NÚNEZ AND THE KNEE OF COURTOIS ALMOST BURIED THE “CREAM”
Crisis after crisis, but both teams have top-tier lineups filled with ambitious world-class players and they set the highest goals for themselves. So, at the beginning of the match, the speed of the players was phenomenal. Particularly impressive was the passion of the hosts, fueled by the packed Anfield. They turned the heads of the defenders with frantic pressing and quickly opened the scoring – Jordan Henderson found Mohamed Salah on the right, cutting perfectly into the line of goalkeeper Darvin Núñez, who sent the ball into the net with his heel (!)
“Creamy” is clearly not used to such intensity and already in the 14th minute made another mistake. Dani Carvajal threw the ball back in a complex arc, and Thibault Courtois, seemingly iron, played unsuccessfully in handling: he shot the ball with his chest, but hit it with his knee at the wrong moment. Salah, who happened to be nearby, immediately punished the goalkeeper for a shortcoming. This is his 44th goal in the Champions League, and in this indicator he caught up with another prominent African striker Didier Drogba.
Liverpool continued to lead the Real Madrid defense with their noses in the grass, and Salah was simply inimitable. Despite all his genius, he gave one of the best games of his career. David Alaba, who opposed him, called mommy and already in the middle of the first half he said that he was injured. Ancelotti instead had to release Nacho.
ALISON DAL CARIUS
Any other team in Madrid’s place would have swum in and finished the fight even before the half-time whistle, but Ancelotti’s Real Madrid taught everyone (and most importantly, themselves!) that they can get out of any swamp. by the hair And now Vinicius Junior passed Karim Benzema in the corner of the penalty area and, quite unexpectedly for everyone, put the ball in the far six. And there is no longer a catastrophe, the situation is working.
And the guests did not calm down on this. Soon, Vinicius himself from the very corner of the penalty area, after a corner kick, stylishly deflected the ball into the same corner, but Alisson rescued his teammates with an elegant jump.
And shortly before the break, the Brazilian goalkeeper also hesitated. He did not consider Vinicius’s arrival threatening and instead of a well-aimed pass to his teammate, he shoved the ball into his compatriot’s leg, then turned around in bewilderment, watching the ball bounce off his goal. It’s like Liverpool have bad luck with goalkeepers in the Champions League! Loris Karius lost Klopp’s trust forever for such a bug.
THE WORST AFTERNOON FOR GOMEZ
In the second half, the scoring extravaganza continued, and again, not without the participation of Vinicius, who had flown into space. Immediately upon returning to the field, he hit Joe Gomez dead, and in a split second before the pass was set up, he was kicked by the defenseman. Luka Modric approached the ball and even somehow too easily found the trajectory to pass all the defenders exactly on the head of Eder Militao – 2: 3.
It was at that moment that Liverpool completely swam, and the Real Madrid players carried out Ancelotti’s plan with perfect coolness: they returned in a disciplined manner and escaped into someone else’s box at the first opportunity. Another such attack by Rodrigo down the right flank continued with a series of passes from Benzema, and ended with a strike from the Frenchman with a rebound from poor Gómez, which completely demoralized Alisson. And also, in my opinion, Joe was the one who prevented Rodrigo from going offside…
You shouldn’t blame him for the fifth goal, but this time he was left alone as a spectator. Although the rival’s effective attack was started by Fabinho, who had a nightmare season, losing the ball in a duel with Modric. The Croatian put the ball into someone else’s field and passed it to Vinicius, who gave it to Benzema. Karim mockingly punched Alisson and fired at three defenders who were naively trying to protect the target.
Probably, this material lacks analysis and observations, but only players who played an incredibly passionate match with an incredible plot and an amazing denouement can be blamed for this. And the result is simple: Liverpool can focus on the Premier League and their own recovery, and Real Madrid have added another noteworthy page to their great story in every way.
Champions League. 1/8 final
Liverpool – Real Madrid – 2:5 (2:2)
Goals: Núñez, 4 – 1:0. Salat, 14 – 2:0. Vinicius, 21 – 2:1. Vinicius, 36 – 2:2. Militao, 47 – 2:3. Benzema, 55 – 2:4. Benzema, 67-2:5.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gómez (Matip 73), Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Baicetic (Elliott 85), Henderson (Milner 73), Salah, Gakpo (Firmino 64), Núñez (Jota), 64).
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Praise (Nacho 27), Valverde, Camavinga, Modric (Kroos 87), Rodrigo (Ceballos 81), Vinicius, Benzema (Asensio 86).
Warnings: Vinicius, 60. Elliott, 90+3.
Referee: Kovac (Romania).
