Liverpool suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League.
The Reds started the game in impressive fashion, scoring two early goals, but their lead was short-lived, and Real Madrid eventually dominated the game, winning 2-5.
Liverpool’s performance in the first twenty minutes of the game was exceptional. They attacked Real Madrid with ferocity, and their hard work paid off as they managed to score two goals through Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah.
But things quickly took a turn for the worse when Real Madrid pulled one back through Vinicius Jr. From then on, Liverpool were completely outclassed by the Spanish side, and they conceded four more goals, including another from Vinicius Jr, a brace from Karim Benzema, and a goal from Eder Militao.
Following the defeat, Steven Gerrard called for his former team to do some “soul-searching” to understand why they conceded five goals.
Speaking during his analysis on BT Sports, Gerrard highlighted Liverpool’s lack of dominance following their impressive start to the game. He acknowledged that any team that concedes five goals must do some introspection to understand why and how it happened. Gerrard, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, urged the team to look inwards and understand what went wrong.
He said (via Mirror):
“[Liverpool] Got off to the perfect start, exactly what you need on a European night – start fast, get yourself in front, build on it. They went two-nil up, but from that moment Real Madrid came back into it, scored quite quick – fantastic goal.
“From then, Liverpool were dominated and outclassed for large periods. Look, I think any team, any club, if you concede five goals there’s got to be an inquest into why and how. I’m sure Jurgen will do that in the coming days. I think everyone will be a little bit raw on the back of that defeat.
“Liverpool don’t concede five goals here at Anfield, and if they do, it’s very rare. There’s gonna be a little bit of soul-searching, a little bit of looking in the mirror, sure, there always is when you concede that many goals. It weren’t good enough.”
Liverpool have a proud history in Europe, and it is rare for them to concede five goals at Anfield in the Champions League. Therefore, the result against Real Madrid is a cause for concern for the Reds’ fans and players alike.
However, Liverpool’s success in the Champions League in recent years, including their triumph in 2019, has been built on their ability to bounce back from difficult situations. Klopp will be hoping that his team can do the same in the second leg of the tie against Real Madrid.
“Liverpool don’t concede five goals here at Anfield,..” Steven Gerrard
Genius level sorcery.