Before the Champions League quarter-final first leg, Defensa Central reported that Real Madrid planned to target Trent Alexander-Arnold and they could not have been more right.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the right-back woke up with cold sweats early this morning with visions of Vinicius Junior running at him after his woeful display.
It’s quite strange as a Liverpool fan to be writing this but the no.66 had an absolutely disastrous game. After defending him before the clash, I can’t help but think the 22-year-old perhaps deserves some of the criticism he received.
That’s not to say he’s not a great player, with Transfermart valuing him at £90m, but without Jordan Henderson filling in for him when he bombs forward or Joe Gomez’s pace to cover for him, he was exposed in spectacular fashion by Vinicius.
Defensa Central predicted Zinedine Zidane’s tactics to an absolute tee and while Liverpool have a chance to come back in the second leg, Jurgen Klopp has a choice to make about what he wants to change tactically to prevent a repeat display at Anfield.
The Reds scored an all-important away goal but with the second leg precariously poised, the focus now switches back to the Premier League as Aston Villa visit Anfield with a finish inside the top four the objective.
The strangest aspect of Liverpool’s display against Los Blancos was how it was so different to the dominant, high energy performance against Arsenal just days before.
Liverpool were boosted in their hopes of finishing in the Champions League places last weekend when Everton, Spurs and Chelsea all dropped points. West Ham beat Wolves 3-1 and are a side to keep an eye on as David Moyes’ men are in impressive form at the moment.
Klopp will need to gear his players up to go again and hopefully, a win against the Villians will give them the confidence to beat Real Madrid and make an improbable comeback to reach the semi-finals.