Anfield Road was the place where Real Madrid visited Liverpool in the Champions League. We have tonight’s player ratings for you.
After the dominant victory against Liverpool in Valdebebas, Real Madrid only had to go to Anfield to defend that result. Contrary to other seasons, Zinedine Zidane doesn’t have the firepower he usually has in this stage of the tournament. Whether it’s because Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer his player or the many injuries they have. Los Blancos needed to show up to compete with what they had. Liverpool was confident they could turn the result around with the top forwards they had at Anfield tonight.
But ‘Zizou’ has proven repeatedly he is becoming a better tactician than he was when he started his career. Today, he surprised Klopp with Federico Valverde as a right-back. The Uruguay international was quite nervous at the beginning with Sadio Mane drilling on that corridor of the pitch. Luck was a decisive factor for Real Madrid to keep a clean sheet in the first half. Thibaut Courtois was also decisive with at least three saves against Salah, Milner, and Mane.
Real Madrid kept their cool in the second half.
After the break, Zidane kept the same mentality to defend well and maybe attempt to score a goal that would decide the result. However, the Reds were also solid on the defense despite a few efforts from Karim Benzema. Today was all about defending for Los Blancos, all the players responded well to the challenge.
This might be the season in which we can clearly see the manager’s work at play from a tactical point of view. Zidane is a fully accomplished coach who took Jurgen Klopp to school in both matches. With a nil-nil result, Real Madrid reaches another semifinal under the French manager. They will meet Chelsea in an attempt to reach another final. Our man of the match is none other than Thibaut Courtois with all the saves he made throughout the 90 minutes.
Player ratings
Liverpool: Alisson (7), Robertson (7), Phillips (7), Kabak (7), Trent (7), Fabinho (7), Milner (7), Wijnaldum (7), Mane (7), Salah (6), Firmino (5).
Bench: Thiago (6), Jota (6), Oxlade-Chamberlain (6), Shaqiri (6).
Real Madrid: Courtois (9), Mendy (7), Nacho (7), Militao (7), Valverde (7), Casemiro (8), Modric (7), Kroos (7), Asensio (7), Vinicius (7), Benzema (7).
Bench: Rodrygo (7), Odriozola (6), Isco (6).
Feel free to make your pick on player’s ratings and performances using the widget below.
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