Montaña de Madrid demasiado empinada para Rojos galantes
Real Madrid 1 Liverpool 0 (6–2 on aggregate), 15th March 2023.
Real Madrid 1 Liverpool 0 (6–2 on aggregate), 15th March 2023.
Mere seconds had past since the final shrill of German referee Felix Zwayer’s whistle before the Santiago Bernabéu, home to the European champions Real Madrid celebrating a comprehensive and dominant 1–0 victory and 6–2 overall aggregate triumph, resounded to the anthem of the visitors they had vanquished once more. It was a classy gesture from whomever decided this within the Los Blancos organisation and although it signalled a rare early exit from European competition under Jurgen Klopp, his Reds, and the new Liverpool team to come, will never walk alone. There’s a summer storm coming, but first Klopp and his current team need to walk on through the coming wind and rain of twelve Premier League fixtures that will decide whether they clamber back into the top 4 spots available for Europe’s most coveted footballing prize next season.
There was another final shrill of a referee’s whistle last evening, Peter Bankes to be precise, and whilst “You’ll Never Walk Alone” didn’t immediately swirl around Brighton and Hove Albion’s rain swept Falmer Stadium on the south coast, it did signal another 1–0 home win last evening, as well as ratcheting up the pressure on the Reds to grab that fourth qualification spot for next season’s Champions League. Brighton’s 1–0 win over Crystal Palace ensured they joined the Reds on 42 Premier League points in 6th/7th place, 2 points behind the “destiny season” in the guise of big spending Newcastle United, 6 points adrift of a Tottenham Hotspur team who simply have to qualify for the big European dance next season, and level with a Brighton team who, if the Reds don’t scramble their way to 4th place, I sincerely hope they do.
Last evening can be easily summarised thus: After a bright opening, the Reds were then easily passed through and between the lines of a midfield in which they should have had the numerical advantage but didn’t have the muscle, nous or energy to press and consistently win back the ball. The first half belonged to a Real Madrid team who only came alive after ten minutes but from that moment on pressed and pressed from the halfway line into the Liverpool half of the field. The Reds were indebted to their Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker for a string of first half saves, the best of which was a flying fingertip save onto his crossbar that denied Eduardo Camavinga a spectacular goal on 20 minutes. Others came before and after it and although the bearded Brazilian goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Karim Benzema and his scruffy tap-in goal on 78 minutes, the two-legged tie was already over and the Reds had rather tamely only managed one or two soft efforts on the goal of Thibault Courtois in a second half of football in which they needed to score at least three to take the tie to an incredibly improbable period of extra-time.
This isn’t a criticism and nor is the following assessment that the Reds were not only well beaten last evening but outclassed over two legs by the champions of Europe. Last evening they desperately missed the energy of their skipper Jordan Henderson in the centre of a midfield and a central battle they quickly lost. Fanciful ideas of a second half comeback for the ages were just that, fanciful, and again this isn’t a criticism either. This team, for all its recent defensive foibles, poor performances (Manchester United aside) and without their captain, the too often injured Thiago Alcantara and a thin substitutes bench, was never in all honesty going to score at least the three goals necessary for extra-time let alone adding to and matching whatever goals were scored by their Spanish hosts.
The current European champions can still turn it on when seemingly in most need, and only Manchester City and Napoli stand in the way of yet another European crown.
The former champions of Europe and two wins from everlasting immortality just months ago, are a pale shadow of that incredible team and incredible time to be lucky enough to be a Liverpool fan, and this, obviously, isn’t a criticism either.
Here’s to an incredible winning run in the Premier League, and last hurrah for many in a Red shirt of Liverpool, as a place is secured at the top table of European football come the end of the season. If the Reds falter, here’s to the stumbling of Tottenham and Newcastle too, and the “Seagulls” of Brighton swooping into the Champions League, the defending champions of which will hopefully be Napoli.
Alas the Reds European dreams have been tossed and blown away for another season.
Walk on.
Afterword from The Boss, Jurgen Klopp, courtesy of www.liverpoolfc.com
“We came here with the backpack we had with the three goals difference. You need a special performance and we didn’t show a special performance tonight. It was, in moments, a good performance, but Real Madrid was, for the whole game, the team in control of the game. They had the better chances, Ali had to make two sensational saves to keep us in the game and that’s the reason. Again, if you want to go through you need to be outstanding; if you want to win the game, you need to be really good. In the end, Madrid were the better team and that’s why the right team went through to the next round”.
“Real Madrid were just the better side and I am long enough in the business to respect that”.
“When we come back from the international break we have a proper football week ahead of us, I would say, with three games: City, Chelsea and Arsenal, which will then probably define what we get out of it. People might say we lost it in Bournemouth, but I think this week is a pretty decisive one, so we have to hope now the boys come back healthy, early enough, in the right shape and then we will try it”.
Thanks for reading. There is a wealth of past and present articles on Liverpool FC within my library here or alternatively, here are my three most recently published articles from this season:
Billing too costly for a lacklustre Reds
Bournemouth 1 Liverpool 0, 11th March 2023.medium.com
Reds in Seventh Heaven as they cast the Manchester Devils into the night
Liverpool 7 (SEVEN) Manchester United 0, 5th March 2023.medium.com
Reds back to winning ways over a toothless Wolves
Liverpool 2 Wolves 0, 1st March 2023.medium.com