Reds Stand Tall Against Mighty Madrid The Reds were outshot 27-4 but Mignolet was big. There’s no doubt that Real Madrid are one of the world’s best teams right now if not the best. So to go into a storied stadium like the Bernabeu and take them on was always going to be a tall order. And that would be if you put out your first team. Brendan Rodgers apparently decided to rest some key players ahead of the league game to Chelsea, perhaps reasoning that an away win to Real Madrid was too much to ask and wasted player energies that could be saved for a winnable league game. we got a performance but unfortunately we didnt get the result However the team selected was built to control the midfield and the tactic worked well. Kolo Toure, in for Lovren, was solid on the left side of defence while the regular starters all held their own. A midfield five did well to hold possession pressed by some real stars of the world game. Lucas kept things tight at the back of the midfield but the Reds vulnerability increased when he left for Gerrard after 69 minutes. Can looked like a solid performer while Markovic showed the most promise yet in a Liverpool shirt making runs from deeper positions. Borini worked tirelessly at the front closing down, trying to create and making runs to attempt to get into scoring positions. As he did a week ago the Italian made a case for permanent first team football along with Lucas. But Real Madrid just had far too much talent and the Reds had their hands full just containing the game. They were outshot 27-4 and if it wasn’t for an outstanding performance between the sticks by Simon Mignolet the score line would have been worse. The Real Madrid goal, the only one of the game was mostly just genius by the home team. A one two inside the Liverpool half sets Marcello down the left side. He’s picked up but gets off a great cross. Toure is unable to reach it and had left Benzema in order to try, the French forward though is perfectly positioned and slots in at the back post in a similar fashion to his goal in the first meeting. Nevertheless it was Liverpool pressing at the end to find an equalizer. Only the talent level of the European Champions kept them in it, since it was clear Brendan Rodgers had figured out tactical ways to attack his opponents. Marcello at left-back proved to be particularly adept at shutting down the advances of Manquillo and Markovic. Brendan Rodgers Were disappointed with the result, in particular after an excellent performance. We started the game very, very well, showed great confidence and courage to play. We defended well when we had to against a team who are winning games by four, five and six goals and are currently the best team in the world. I thought we were unfortunate not to get something from the game. The courage the players showed, we had to defend well at times, but we always wanted to ensure we stayed in the game. Weve seen at this stadium in particular, games finished after 20/25 minutes. With our courage to play, our attitude and commitment in the game to keep going forward, I thought we deserved a point from the game. In terms of team selection, I know we havent been a team that has got a consistent run of form at the moment, winning five or six games. The changes were for a team that I thought would get us a performance and a result - we got a performance but unfortunately we didnt get the result. Liverpool should take great courage from the game because they did well in the most difficult of tests and if they can replicate the performance against lesser opponents they should deliver some convincing wins. Man of the Match: Marcello (Real Madrid); Mignolet (Liverpool) Statistics and player ratings at whoscored Through the storm/By David C Jennings
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 21:30:00 +0000
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