Match Focus: Liverpool Face Mountainous Task Against European Champions
Heading into the most high-profile game of their year this week, Liverpool will have been hoping for a simple, unremarkable and uneventful win at Loftus Road on Sunday to boost confidence in their ranks. The manner of their 3-2 win on Sunday, however, meant it could barely have buoyed fans less going into today's clash with reigning European champions Real Madrid at Anfield.
Leading by a goal to nil with 3 minutes of normal time remaining at the ground of the team propping up Premier League table, Liverpool somehow contrived to squeeze in twice throwing away a lead before eventually netting a winner courtesy of the home side's second own goal of the afternoon. They were handed victory on a plate, having defended so poorly that the team that had started the day as the league's joint-lowest scorers were allowed two lifelines back into the game. Meanwhile in Spain, Real Madrid were romping to a second successive 5-0 win.
Liverpool fans thus come into the midweek fixture with very little hope of a positive result. The Reds of last season who romped to an unprecedented title challenge, scoring 101 goals in 38 games are no longer. A new team has been built, and so far that is what they look like: a newly constructed team that has not yet gelled. There is a genuine fear that Madrid could put a few past Liverpool.
Back-to-back wins over West Brom and then QPR won't have done much to persuade fans that a third consecutive victory is a possibility, but they have been handed a glimmer of hope with the news that neither Gareth Bale nor Sergio Ramos has made the trip to Merseyside.
With James Rodríguez's arrival at the Bernabeu, there have been calls in some quarters for Bale to be dropped in order to allow a more defensive-minded player to anchor the midfield. The Welshman has, however, in registering 5 goals and 4 assists in 9 Liga and Champions League appearances this season, proved undroppable. Without him, even though Real Madrid boast significant strength in reserve, Liverpool do at least have a marginally greater chance of shutting out their opponents.
Ancelotti has hinted at playing the same 4-4-2 formation that he used in Saturday's trouncing of Levante, with James and Isco starting out wide - although they won't provide much width. In the centre, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric will dominate possession, but the duos' biggest flaw - if they were to have one - is the lack of protection they provide and the space they leave between themselves and the defence, with both inclined to go forward and support attacks. As can be seen from the average player positions map in their win at the weekend, Kroos and Modric left gaps to be exploited in front of defence. And here it will be a defence without their biggest leader in Ramos.
The hope for Liverpool will therefore be that Raheem Sterling, their standout performer, can find space between the lines to receive the ball, turn and run at the Real Madrid backline. If he can get Pepe one-on-one it would be hard to see past the 19-year-old coming out on top. However, while he is the Reds' best player in Premier League games this season (7.59 WhoScored rating), he is yet to impress significantly in Europe so far (6.61).
He has completed 7 successful dribbles in 2 Champions League appearances but is yet to play a single key pass; he has had 4 shots but hit the target with only 1; he is yet to provide a goal or an assist. Of course, he is still very young and needs time to adapt to the rigours of Europe's elite competition, but with Daniel Sturridge absent, Liverpool will need Sterling to step his game up if they are to stand any chance in this encounter. They could also do with Mario Balotelli finding form.
The Italian has yet to get off the mark in domestic action for Liverpool and has of late looked distinctly lacking in the confidence he usually exudes. He cut a disconsolate figure as he missed chance after chance - including an open goal - at QPR on Sunday, but having netted the opener against Ludogorets in Liverpool's first Champions League game of the season he may be more relaxed in Europe.
He has 8 goals in 31 career Champions League appearances so far, but has never hit more than 2 in a single season. That he is still getting into dangerous positions to be on the end of chances shows he hasn't (yet) completely lost the plot, and soon enough he will surely find his goalscoring touch. He has never been a particularly clinical striker; of the 117 players to hit double figures for goals in Europe's top 5 leagues last season, he had the worst conversion rate (9.2%), but he does usually guarantee goals nonetheless. With just 1 from 41 shots in all competitions in Liverpool red thus far, he has scored with only 2.4% of his chances and clearly isn't performing the levels we know he can, but they doesn't detract from the threat he will pose to Ancelotti's team.
Nonetheless, amongst questions surrounding quite how Liverpool's potent attack can hurt the Spanish giants, there remains the distinct problem of stopping one Cristiano Ronaldo at the other end. The Ballon d'Or winner has scored 19 goals in 12 appearances this season (1.6 goals per game), while Liverpool as a whole have scored 17 in 11 matches (1.5 per game). He needs no introduction and young right-back Javier Manquillo could be in for a long night trying to halt his charge.
The European champions coming to visit for another Champions League night at Anfield will make for a great occasion, but once Liverpool get past that and down to business, they face one hell of a task in preventing another Real Madid goal fest.
Do you think Liverpool can get anything from the game against Real Madrid? Let us know in the comments below
