Real Madrid obtained used to pulling off dramatic comebacks within the Champions League final season. Now it must keep away from one to maintain its title defence going.
It will likely be Liverpool needing to do one thing magical on the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Wednesday to reverse a 5-2 loss from the primary leg within the spherical of 16.
It positively received’t be straightforward — no away workforce has ever erased a three-goal loss from the primary leg within the Champions League. Only 5 instances the workforce that misplaced at residence rallied within the second leg, with Manchester United the one one to beat a two-goal deficit in a round-of-16 matchup towards Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
Liverpool did handle an enormous comeback at residence within the 2019 semifinals, rallying towards one other Spanish membership, Barcelona. It had misplaced 3-0 on the Camp Nou earlier than pulling off a 4-0 win within the second leg at residence to maintain alive a run that finally ended with the workforce profitable the trophy. Only three different groups overcame a deficit of three or extra objectives — Barcelona, Roma and Deportivo La Coruña.
“We need to go and do something special,” Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold stated. “It’s about throwing the kitchen sink at it and going all out.”
Madrid, which beat Liverpool in final season’s remaining for a record-extending 14th European title, pulled off thrilling comebacks on its option to that remaining, rallying from behind towards PSG within the spherical of 16, Chelsea within the quarterfinals and Manchester City within the semifinals.
Madrid additionally rallied towards Liverpool within the first leg this season after taking place 2-0 within the first half in England, finally constructing its snug three-goal benefit with two objectives every by Vinícius Júnior and Karim Benzema. Éder Militão additionally scored for Madrid at Anfield.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti anticipated an open second leg and stated his workforce won’t play too defensively.
“The message to the team is simple,” Ancelotti stated Tuesday. “We have to try to play as well as possible, just like in the first leg. We won’t try to speculate, we have to be in the game from the first minute. We have to go into the game with maximum intensity and enthusiasm and try to win it.”
The solely time Madrid did not advance within the Champions League after profitable the primary leg on the street was in 2019 when it was eradicated by Ajax within the spherical of 16.
Madrid has received six of its final seven matches towards Liverpool within the Champions League, drawing the opposite one.
The workforce ended a three-match winless run with a 3-1 victory over Espanyol on the Bernabéu within the Spanish league on Saturday. The coach is anticipated to have Ferland Mendy and Benzema out there after recovering from accidents.
Liverpool took one other hit to its confidence with a 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Bournemouth over the weekend, hurting its possibilities of transferring nearer to the highest 4 within the Premier League. Mohamed Salah missed a penalty in that recreation.
(from AP)
