It doesn’t give real Madridright now, to tie or win at Liverpool in his field. The leader of the Premier and the Champions He plays with an intensity and determination that the team he coaches does not reach. Carlo Ancelotti. He had left two good games in the Spanish LaLiga, but today Anfield is one step above the performance of the current champion. And even more so if you arrive at his field without Vinicius. The Brazilian’s way of approaching games is half Madrid when things are not going well. He missed him in a scandalous way, in a way that does not leave Kylian Mbappé in a good place.
At the beginning of the game, when they were best positioned on the field, the Spanish team’s attack failed and then, in the second half, the defense could no longer hold out. Courtois had already left a series of miracles, but you cannot always be omnipotent. Madrid conceded a goal in the second half, when they deserved it and gave no sign of getting up.
Well, yes. There was a moment, a perfect opportunity, when Lucas Vázquez, who came out like a motorcycle, launched and convinced that anything was possible, managed to get a penalty. Without Vinicius, Mbappé, who took his place on the wing, caught the ball. It was the ball to change the game, to tie it, although at that moment the Spanish team did not deserve it, but football is not fair or unfair.
It didn’t matter. Mbappé took the penalty at the same level as he played the match. So much was expected of him that the crash at Anfield leaves a wound, a nostalgia for what has not been seen and, perhaps, also anger. Mbappé has to change, not only in the game, but also in that way of being on the field, that way of going under pressure, to steal the ball.
In a competitive first half by Madrid, defending high, they lacked bite, He lacked unchecking and he lacked Mbappé. There are days when nothing comes out and that was the French one. The problem is that the day has not yet come when things consistently turn out well for him.
Brahim accompanied him because Vini’s loss disrupted Ancelotti’s team, which also opted for Güler in the midfield. The Turk did not play a leading role, partly because Madrid did not have the ball and because it was a game of sheltering in place and waiting. It was not a day for him. Güler can be a solution, but not for a moment of hurry. Brahim had his moments, he was alive and the best came from him. He also looked for Mbappé, but did not find him.
Without attack, without being able to scare the rival with arrivals and depth, Madrid gave the match to Liverpool. The leader of the Premier was not afraid to go up because he had no need to look back. So, little by little, minute by minute or drop by drop, the match turned towards Courtois’ goal. Liverpool is a hammer that is increasing its speed, searching inside again and again. Madrid was doing well, because they defended high up, with a Camavinga everywhere, reaching any ball, reigning in a position that is being won hard. He never gets tired and is a midfielder who, suddenly, can appear running down the wing without it being obvious that it is not his position. The match seemed to be the one that placed him as a starter on the team forever. Until he was injured and Madrid, in case they didn’t already believe it, knew that they were never going to come back. The penalty that Mbappé missed confirms it.
The match, from the second half, had become, as happened against City, in the last Champions League, an exercise in resistance. The team increasingly sunk; the central defenders, too close to Courtois. The defeat was a shame, in part, because Asencio was not able to enjoy his first big day at Real Madrid. More will come, there is no doubt, because the young youth squad withstood the pressure, especially in the first half. He had, as soon as the match began, one of those plays that can define a game and a career: he almost scored a goal on one of the first balls he touched, but he reacted with agility to take it out. Afterwards, he was not afraid to face any rival or last the entire game with yellow. But, in the second half, like the rest of the team, he couldn’t do much more.
Liverpool, who after their experiences in recent years, wanted Madrid, saw them weak, saw themselves superior and from the beginning of the second half, went all out. Ancelotti’s men no longer saw it so clearly and could not find Bellingham, that for many minutes, he was the most clairvoyant in getting the ball. There was no way, because the English team killed the rival with inside balls.
This is how the first came, a cross ball that Courtois didn’t reach and after Mbappé missed his penalty and Salah sent his off for hitting him with a kick with the outside, like children when they shoot hard, after all that, Real Madrid did not wake up.
It was as if he was very aware that it was not his battle, at least for now, maybe later. Gapko finished off the second, with an inexplicably solo header. Madrid had pulled the plug, nor did they believe in the comeback. It is in a slow process, not for feats.