da apostaganha： Liverpool conceded a humiliating 5-2 defeat at Anfield last night in the Champions League clash with Real Madrid and it will come as yet another massive reality check as to how far the quality has dropped this season.
da mrbet： The Reds have had a difficult season, knocked out prematurely from the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup – both trophies the club won last season – as well as struggling for consistency in the Premier League which has left them eighth in the table, a far cry from the dominating Liverpool that supporters have come to know and love.
Despite having more possession (52%), more big chances created (4 v 3) and more accurate passes completed (474 v 449), Jurgen Klopp’s side completely capitulated and failed to grow into the game which has ultimately been the story of their campaign so far.
In the first half, it looked like a giant killing was unfolding when Darwin Nunez gave Liverpool the lead with a cool finish in the fourth minute, quickly followed up by a second goal when Mohammed Salah found the back of the net just ten minutes later.
The two early goals got Anfield rocking in less than 15 minutes, however, after a positively rapid start for the Reds nobody could have predicted what followed with Vinicius Junior scoring twice before the half-time whistle was blown at Anfield, leaving the two sides levelled out ahead of the final 45 minutes.
In the second half, Real Madrid came out all guns blazing and caught the Liverpool team sleeping when Eder Militao gave his team the lead just seconds after the resumption.
The punishments came thick and fast for Klopp’s team as they failed to hold off the attacking threat of Karim Benzema with the Ballon d’Or winner scoring the fourth and the fifth goals to deliver the home team an impossible task when they visit the Bernabeu for the second leg of the tie.
There were many areas of fault and players to blame for the nature in which Liverpool allowed Carlo Ancelotti’s side to embarrass the side on numerous occasions throughout the clash, but none more so than in defence.
Joe Gomez was in the firing line for many mistakes that led to goals in what was a “nightmare” game for not only the team but also the centre-back – per Canadian journalist Demar Grant. Although little could have been done about the fourth strike that deflected off him, the way he turned his back was simply inviting some sort of ricochet to occur.
He wasn’t the only player who had a performance to forget under the Anfield floodlights, however, as Andrew Robertson also let down his manager.
How did Robertson play vs Real Madrid?
This was a troubled night for Robertson who despite making a “frankly ridiculous” tackle to deny Rodrygo – as per the Anfield Watch – was run ragged like many of his teammates.
The 28-year-old ace was particularly lapse in possession, losing it a mammoth 16 times, via Sofascore. Although much of that was to do with his creativity, the fact he gifted the ball back to Madrid so many times was an indicator of the poor events that unravelled in Merseyside.
The former Hull City ace was also dribbled past twice and lost 100% of his aerial duels, as well as failing to deliver a single one of his four crosses accurately. Having won only three ground duels throughout, it proved that his usually high standards failed to be met.
Indeed, the Scottish left-back is renowned for his reliability and consistency on the left flank, rarely getting it wrong but aside from the aforementioned last-ditch tackle on Rodrygo, was more of a hindrance than a help.
With that being said, Liverpool will now have to focus more intently on their Premier League campaign to make up the six-point gap they currently have with the top four as a Champions League qualifying spot for next season could be even further out of sight after allowing Real Madrid to run riot at Anfield.