Traumtore, goalkeeper mistakes – and in the end a debacle for Jürgen Klopp’s FC Liverpool: On a spectacular night in the Champions League, the Reds conceded the next serious bankruptcy against their feared opponents Real Madrid and are on the verge of being eliminated after the round of 16 first leg. Despite a two-goal lead, Liverpool lost 5-2 (2-2) and thus clearly missed revenge for last summer’s defeat in the final. In the second leg on March 15, defending champions Real have home advantage.
The offensive stars shone at Anfield Road, while both goalkeepers made bad dropouts at the back. Real led early on through a hacking goal from Darwin Nunez (4′) and a waking moment from Mohamed Salah (14′): the Egyptian took advantage of Thibaut Courtois’ failed dribbling.
Vinicius Junior (21st/36th) soon equalized, first worth seeing, then without much effort: Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson shot his Brazilian compatriot. After half-time, Eder Militao (47′) and Karim Benzema (55’/67′) followed suit. Real remains a nightmare for Liverpool, regardless of the final defeat in 2022: the last win against Madrid was 14 years ago.
This is one of the reasons why the starting position seemed quite clear in advance. The English, currently only average in the domestic Premier League, had no reason “for a big mouth,” said Klopp. Real’s star ensemble was the favourite, and surprisingly Toni Kroos was one of them. The 2014 world champion had recovered from his stomach problems in time, had traveled to the team on Tuesday morning, but was only substituted on in the 87th minute in the evening.
Stunned: Jürgen Klopp has to see his team lose the game
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Image: AFP
Antonio Rüdiger was in the starting XI and Real’s defense around the German international had a lot of work to do at the start. Liverpool operated strenuous pressing – and then also used magic. Salah found the gap strongly, Nunez converted even stronger with the hoe that shook Anfield Road. Real tried to organize himself, but only ten minutes later Courtois dared his unsuccessful dance with Salah.
The away task was now much more difficult for Madrid, but the defending champions remained remarkably calm, scoring twice through Vinicius and turning the game around just two minutes after the break: Eder Militao’s header. When Benzema then scored twice, Klopp laughed a resigned laugh on the sidelines.