What shaped up to be one of the most anticipated match ups in the Champions League thus far, became somewhat of a terror for Liverpool all in the first half. The sounds of Anfield were roaring over the UEFA anthem, and nothing in the sights of the camera’s looked more full of electricity than both sides waiting for the whistle -especially the humble men of Liverpool.
Although odds were against the Liverbirds, Brendan Rogers men set the pace of the match early – it had an essence that was mounted by energy, fast and precise decision making as well as some good pressure on the Real Madrid defense. Unfortunately, Liverpool just did not have the finishing touch; the same way they suffered without Luis Suarez in the first six games of last season.
More from Champions League
- Barcelona kick off Champions League against Royal Antwerp
- PSV Eindhoven v Rangers: Can Gers make it through to group stage?
- Manchester City win their first Champions League
- Champions League Final: Manchester City meets Internazionale in Istanbul
- Manchester City standing on the cusp of a treble
All it took was 23 minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo, the former front man of bitter rivals Manchester United, as well as the scape -goat for negative roars, to open scoring. At that point, the inflation of the match began to slowly loose it steam. A wonderful pass by James Rodriguez, helped find Ronaldo dead centre, where the Portuguese was left with enough space to find the back of the net. Only three minutes passed before a loose ball punched from the hands of Simon Mignolet finds the head of Karim Benzema, the curve and technique it took for the ball to fall behind Mignolet is what began to write the rest of the night. The third and final goal of the night was a scramble in the box, where a the messy foot of Benzema, once again found the net.
The momentum did not shift a great deal, as Madrid still handled the pressure of Liverpool on multiple occasions. Most of these occasions came at the speed and timing of Raheem Sterling. But half time saw the game sit at 3-0, where Mario Balotelli swapped shirts with Pepe, gaining negative acclaim and a social media uproar from Liverpool fans and the football world alike.
Balotelli should be fined for that shirt swap. Absolute disgrace to the football club
— Jonesey (@AlJonesLFC) October 22, 2014
Liverpool fans have been patient, and dually are the best motivators for the Italian. But that kind of behavior, along with his inability to step up and exude the true talent he has for a club whose welcomed him, is a sure slap in the face for the fans and squad alike. Luckily, the Italian was substituted at half-time, but that does not take away from the fact that Liverpool, couldn’t find the right space or pressure to capitalize on a casual Madrid in the second half.
Its a disappointing game and predicament for the Anfield crowd to see their club, one of of such glory, falter on one of Europe’s biggest nights. What will it take for the defensive errors of Liverpool’s back line to have more precision in marking? Or the sheer fact that perhaps the squad itself is just is not melding the way Rogers was hoping. The back-line of Liverpool left just way too much space for Madrid to dominant, and unfortunately things did not go the way they had wished. This is by no means the end of a campaign for Liverpool, but it is a very big bump in the road.