Tuesday, April 06, 2021
Real Madrid dismantle Liverpool
Klopp needs the second leg miracle again
In the new edition of the Champions League final of 2018, the then defeated Liverpool FC cannot take revenge. The team of coach Jürgen Klopp loses in the quarter-finals of the premier class especially because of a weak first half at Real Madrid and has to tremble in the second leg.
Real Madrid opened the door to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a lesson for Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool. Thanks to a brilliant Toni Kroos, Los Blancos deservedly won the quarter-final first leg 3-1 (2-0) and are already one leg in the round of the last four.
Vinicius Junior (27th) and Marco Asensio (36th) first met after passes from Kroos to clear the break. After the connection through Mohamed Salah (51.) Vinicius (65.) decided the new edition of the final of 2018. The Reds therefore need a small miracle in the second leg in Liverpool next Wednesday to keep their last realistic title chance of the season alive .
“Real are the favorites and we feel good in the underdog role,” Klopp said before kick-off. But there could be no question of a Liverpool feel-good factor in the small Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. Not the Reds, but Real pressed and gave the English hardly any time to breathe. The duel was the first of the two top clubs since the memorable final in 2018, when Sergio Ramos fouled Liverpool star Salah out of the game and Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius twice blundered. Ramos was injured this time, as was the second central defender Raphael Varane, who tested positive for the corona virus.
Nevertheless, Real’s defense with substitute Eder Militao looked stable – and the offensive was extremely playful. A fantastic pass from Kroos from his own half exactly into Vinicius’ run initiated the lead. The Brazilian skilfully took the ball with him and hit the left corner flat from 15 meters. A little later, Trent Alexander-Arnold wanted to head another long ball from Kroos to goalkeeper Alisson, but Asensio sprinted in between and lifted the ball into the empty goal. Brother Felix Kroos then tweeted just one word in the direction of all Kroos critics with an ironic wink: “Querpass-Toni”. A supposed foul on Sadio Mane previously left referee Felix Brych (Munich) unpunished.
In the second round, the picture changed fundamentally: First Salah hit the net with the pike, then Liverpool was even close to equalizing. But then Vinicius struck a second time and made long faces at Klopp and Co. The Reds pressed again at the end, but another connecting goal was no longer successful. Now the team needs a similar miracle as in 2019, when they moved into the final after a 3-0 semi-final first leg at FC Barcelona in the second leg with a 4-0.
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