Led 2-0 at Anfield, the Merengues came back from nowhere to win against the Reds in the round of 16 first leg on Tuesday (5-2).
When the smell of great European evenings returns, it is no longer the same team. Stunning, Real Madrid corrected Liverpool in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League (5-2), Tuesday, February 21. Carlo Ancelotti’s team obviously took a good option for qualification three weeks before the return match, but above all showed that they had not lost what had guided them to victory in the previous edition. .
At Anfield, the people of Madrid once again pulled themselves out of a situation that would have seemed hopeless for any other team. Suffocated by the intense pressing of the Reds, they cracked twice in 13 minutes, almost giving the impression of being disoriented. But, the reaction was immediate, Vinicius Junior bringing his team back into the game seven minutes after the 2-0. Back up at the break, Real made the difference at the start of the second period, scoring three goals in twenty minutes.
Ancelotti knows the recipe
It’s as if the recipe for the victorious epic had been neatly tucked away in a drawer until needed again. Take a Real Madrid not necessarily expected at its best level, stick a tough opponent to it, plunge it into an unfavorable situation, then let the magic happen – with a touch of Karim Benzema, author of two goals on Tuesday – until the historic outcome. On Tuesday, the Merengues became the first team in history to score five goals away from Liverpool in European competition.
The round of 16 had just been the starting point of their epic campaign last season, with the difference that it was not until the return match to attend it, going back two goals at the Santiago Bernabeu. Paris Saint-Germain had been only the first victim that Real had hung on its hunting board. Chelsea had followed in the quarter-finals, when the London club led 3-0 with ten minutes remaining in the second leg. Then, Manchester City had yielded in the semi-finals after having scored two goals in the 90th minute of the second leg.
Coming back from nowhere, the routine for Real
Tuesday, against Liverpool, Real Madrid did not wait for the second round to turn the tide. “I have a lot of confidence in my players. They controlled their emotions well. We suffered a bit, but this team never loses its head and always continues to play”, rejoiced his trainer, Carlo Ancelotti, satisfied but not euphoric at the microphone of Canal +. The routine almost for the coach with the four “big-eared cups”.
It remains to be seen whether the face shown against Liverpool will be the one that the Merengues will wear in the rest of the competition. Real has already sent a first message to its future European opponents. And even when his last defense Thibaut Courtois, usually irreproachable, faults, the collective strength of the people of Madrid always ends up winning.