Liverpool FC starts furiously and is even more furiously sobered. In the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League, Real Madrid celebrates the next giant comeback in Europe with their timeless heroic football at Anfield Road. National player Antonio Rüdiger is amazed.
Real Madrid are still a monster, no matter how hopeless the battle for the next La Liga championship is and no matter how much criticism the team receives. The gap to constant FC Barcelona is already eight points. Farewells to the royal are intoned. As so often in the past. And they were always premature. So also this time. The eternal duel of the Spanish giants is played out on two different levels. While the Catalans dominate in the domestic La Liga, but tremble in the Europa League for the round of 16 (against Manchester United), Real Madrid succeeds in the Champions League. The team of legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti pushed open the door to the quarter-finals this Tuesday evening with force and grandeur. At Liverpool FC, the Spaniards won a surreal game 5-2 (2-2), although the hosts were already 2-0 after 14 minutes.
The Royals have at least one foot in the next round after this furious victory, but Liverpool FC need a gigantic effort for the comeback in the second leg on March 15th. “We’re going there, I can already say that, and we’ll try to win the game. I don’t know whether that’s possible or not. But we’ll try and then see what happens,” said the shaken coach Jürgen Klopp.
The game at Anfield that plunges the Reds back into deep crisis of meaning and football condenses the story of Real Madrid’s timeless heroes into 90 spectacular minutes. They never give up, they discover undreamt-of power reserves in the premier class and bring a finesse to the lawn that is no longer believed to be possible. Under Ancelotti, Real Madrid is probably the best dosed team in Europe and the game that is probably the most difficult to understand. And nobody should be surprised if the next little miracle is created at the end of the season.
The hope of a turnaround in Klopp’s team, which has been struggling this season, has fizzled out for the time being. For the first time in the club’s history, Liverpool have conceded five goals in a home game in international competition. “It’s a reality check,” said former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. “With any team that concedes five goals, there are things that need to be questioned.” The Reds sometimes blundered and Los Blancos punished it mercilessly. With a consequence that is almost disgusting for every opponent.
Of course it’s like this: If Real Madrid wins the Champions League, then of course it’s never a sensation. This is less due to the sporting achievements, but to the oversize with which the club still shines in Europe. Hardly any club represents the old moneyed nobility and the establishment in continental football as much as Real. And no team dances as wonderfully and sure-footedly on the abyss as the royals with the tireless Luka Modric and Karim Benzema. And of course they were also assigned two protagonist roles on this memorable evening in Anfield. But first someone else shone: Vinicius Junior.
When the first lines were written in Anfield about the amazing resurrection of Liverpool FC, when Real Madrid threatened to go under in the first leg of the round of 16, the Brazilian slammed his disillusionment into the Reds mesh. The Liverpool defended the winger half-heartedly or not at all – 1: 2 (21st). The tipping point in this game. 15 minutes later, Vinicius Junior benefited from a big mistake by keeper Alisson. The otherwise so reliable goalkeeper shoots at his attacking compatriot without much trouble. It was the keeper’s second huge buck that night. Reals Thibaut Courtois had previously stumbled upon the Reds’ 2-0 lead. Yes, it was an evening of gifts. Klopp even found that every goal conceded was a polite gift. If one considers the passivity of one’s own staff, then there are no arguments for contradiction.
In the re-run of last season’s final, the Madrilenians continued to write their unbelievable story. They had won the final (1-0) and Vinicus Junior had scored then too. Real had won, against all odds. No one ever thought the team capable of this success. Up until the final, Los Blancos had never been favorites in the knockout stages. And they were never the better team. Not against the disgraced billionaire idiots from Paris St. Germain, who had already collapsed bitterly in the round of 16. Not against the defending champions FC Chelsea in the quarter-finals, not against the over-dominant Manchester City of the desperate Josep Guardiola and not against the oppressively superior Liverpool. It’s a strange dominance.
Madrid is neither “heavy metal” (like Liverpool) nor “Mozart” (like Manchester City). Real is bombast rock, Real is heroic and high point football. If the break should have slowed down the wild spectacle in Anfield a little, Madrid immediately turned the plate up to high temperature again with the restart. The game was on for two minutes when Eder Militao headed in a powerful Modric free-kick into the goal. Liverpool fought for supremacy, but Real fought back with the flaming heart of a champion. After a one-two with Rodrygo, Benzema created the necessary space and increased the lead to 4:2 (55 ‘) with a deflected shot.
And what this ensemble is capable of when it combines pleasure and class was revealed in the 67th minute. Liverpool is picked apart with the simple genius of old heroes. After winning the ball in midfield, Modri? switches quickly and sends Vinícius Júnior off. In front of the edge of the penalty area, the winger keeps an overview and crosses to Benzema. The Frenchman calmly lets Alisson out and fires the ball past three defenders into the left half-height corner. The second dream goal of the evening, after Liverpool’s early 1-0 lead (4th). Darwin Nunez had refurbished an outstanding pass from Mo Salah with a hoe at full speed.
Real, that monster, had bitten again. And the Madrilenians themselves couldn’t believe that they had succeeded. “We still believed in ourselves, but coming back like this is just crazy,” said Antonio Rüdiger. “After the 2-0 loss we said to ourselves: We only need one goal – luckily we did it quickly. After that we had confidence and everything went a little easier.” And maybe the calculation for the title is very simple: In a season in which the World Cup blows up everything in winter, the team that focuses all its energy on this competition may win. Like the bombastrockers from Madrid, apparently.
