Anfield was where the attention of the world lay. Liverpool and Real Madrid met in the Round of 16 first leg of the UEFA Champions League, a game which has been repeated in recent years.
Although they both have bad form this season, the game was exciting and the 14-time European champions won in their regular melodramatic way and put a leg in the quarter-final.
Real Madrids players personalities in the Champions League in recent years under any situation or inside any stadium are something unique and rare.
In this tactical analysis, we look closer at the tactics of both teams, attempting to explain them and how they tried to use their major spears.
Lineups
Liverpool’s regular 4-3-3 system had been used by Jürgen Klopp who started with Alisson in goal, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, and Andy Robertson as his back four. Stefan Bajcetic, Fabinho, and Jordan Henderson were the midfielders while Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez were the strikers.
In contrast, the Italian expert, Carlo Ancelotti whos won four titles before, lined Real Madrid in 4-3-3 form and started the game with the returning Karim Benzema in front alongside Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. Carlo furthermore picked Thibaut Courtois with a backline Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba. Meanwhile, the midfield trio of Fede Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, and Luka Modric started in midfield.
A superb start
There is no better way to open a game in the knockout stage than leading 2-0 in the first 14 minutes like Liverpool did.
Jürgen Klopp,
