Liverpool required a miracle at Santiago Bernabéu to overcome the huge 5-2 deficit it suffered against Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, but the team in red was not able to rally back into the game and lost to the 14-time European Cup winner Los Blancos at their home in the second leg of this fixture. The loss meant Jürgen Klopp’s men are eliminated from the European club football contest and will not win any of the four major competitions they participated in, with the Top Four finish in the Premier League is also likely to be in jeopardy.
Liverpool Eliminated by Real Madrid in Three Consecutive Seasons
Kop’s journey in the last two editions of the UEFA Champions League had all ended in the hands of Real Madrid’s, having lost to the Spanish La Liga powerhouse in the quarterfinal of 2020/2021 Season as well as the final of 2021/2022 Season. With this in mind, Klopp made two changes to his Liverpool side that suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League last time around, whereas Carlo Ancelotti welcomed back his captain Karim Benzema from injury as one of his two alterations to the squad that beat Espanyol in La Liga last weekend.
Uruguayan forward Darwin Núñez had a huge chance in the seventh minute, when Mohamed Salah unleashed him with a through ball, but Thibaut Courtois was readied for his effort. It was the home side’s turn to attack several minutes later. Former Chelsea man Antonio Rüdiger headed a pass for the unmarked Vinícius Júnior to open the score line, only to be denied by Alisson just before the line. Real Madrid was greedy to extend its aggregate lead in this cup tie and French midfielder Eduardo Camavinga’s wonderful strike was met with the crossbar.
This second-legged game finally had its deadlock broken in the 78th minute. Vinícius Júnior mistimed his volley but the ball fell back to his side, in which he squared a pass for the open Benzema to score his 19th goal of the season. Liverpool was lucky not to concede a seventh goal over two legs, after video assistant referee (VAR) showed that Greece’s Konstantinos Tsimikas did not intentionally touched the ball with his hand in the penalty box during the dying moments of the match. The final whistle saw Los Blancos through to their third successful UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal with a 6-2 aggregate score.
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Klopp: “We Prepared for a Special Performance.”
The 55-year-old manager acknowledged the heavy 5-2 defeat in Anfield had already taken a toll on his players, and they were unable to produce a special performance against the 14-time European Cup winner Real Madrid at the latter’s home. He mentioned: “To be honest, if we draw at home and play the game that we played tonight, we go out probably as well. We cannot come here and hope that you get something. We prepared for a special performance, but we were not able to put it on the pitch tonight. It was obvious, I think – nobody is thinking, ‘how could Liverpool go out?’ That’s probably the best sign that the right team went through.”
Nevertheless, the German head coach is confident that Kop will be back to the UEFA Champions League next season, despite being six points adrift the Top Four in the Premier League, stating that “We really have to keep going, we have to keep fighting”.
As for the winning manager and former Everton head coach, Carlo Ancelotti explained it was Liverpool’s high press that ultimately failed them in this UEFA Champions League Round of 16 cup tie. “Pressing up high for them has cost them because Modrić and Kroos manage very well in these types of matches. They are not afraid and are able to get the ball out from the back. It has cost [Liverpool] in this sense. The team was fine. I liked the team. On a psychological level, in a game like this when you have a three-goal lead, you can lower your level… but we didn’t lower it today”, the Italian said.
Jürgen Klopp after losing the Champions League final last year:
“Where’s the final next year? Istanbul? Book the hotel.”
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 15, 2023
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