Real Madrid fell to another Champions League defeat at Anfield as Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners on Wednesday night. The night was scarred by a Kylian Mbappé miss after Alex McAllister gave Liverpool the lead, with Cody Gakpo doubling the home team’s lead on 76 minutes.
Three answers
1. Would the return to form continue?
After back-to-back losses, Real Madrid seemed to have got back into the swing of things with seven goals scored without reply in the wins over Osasuna and Leganés. Liverpool was a different opponent altogether, and that much was made clear. At no point in this match did Real Madrid have control of the game, the three shots on target coming from a missed penalty and two injury time attempts going to prove as much. Real Madrid’s problems against the elite have not disappeared at any time this season and the new Champions League format only serves to underline that by putting Los Blancos up against Borussia Dortmund, Milan and Liverpool earlier than they might face in a usual season. Of the five games against those three and against Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid have taken three defeats, one draw and one loss. This side has issues which are not close to being resolved.
2. How would Real Madrid line up without Vinícius?
When injury to Vinícius was confirmed on Monday, the first thought was how Carlo Ancelotti would line his side up for the biggest game of the next month that the Brazilian will miss. The difficulty came in that it was also the first and the game only 48 hours away. Any solution here was always likely to be a temporary quick fix, but this surprised many with Brahim operating as a makeshift centre-forward who was almost more like a false nine. Individual performances disappointed, but the system lacked a focal point or direction, and play broke down far too quickly when shifted wide in the transition with both Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler showing poor decision making. With Endrick on the field, he committed more fouls than meaningful contributions. Food for thought for Carlo.
3. Could this game be season-defining?
This was arguably Real Madrid’s toughest challenge yet and came at the lowest point in their season. There’s nothing to say that the Champions League campaign is even close to over, let alone the La Liga race or the hunt for other domestic silverware, but this game at an arena like Anfield felt important and with the potential to have longstanding consequences. Getafe at home on Sunday should be straightforward, but Athletic Club and Girona away before the all to play for match against Atalanta in the Champions League now looks tricky. That run of three games could be the difference between success and failure this season.
Three questions
1. Is Kylian Mbappé to blame?
Well, that’s the question on everyone’s lips. Kylian Mbappé knew that all eyes would be on him with no Vinícius Júnior in the side as much of the offensive game plan would revolve around him. He failed to live up to expectations, but more than that, he failed to live up to the bare minimums that Madridistas expect. He lost more duels than anyone else on the field with eight, his movement was slow at best, lazy at worst, and his penalty miss was the kind of big chance that a star player for Real Madrid can’t afford to be failing. If Mbappé has a long way to go to settle at Real Madrid, this was a great demonstration of why. Not pressing, not tracking back, and not threatening in attack means that Mbappé is contributing little. That’s a problem for Carlo Ancelotti. Does he drop his star man and cause a media circus? Or does he keep him and risk him being a liability and earning more criticism?
2. Are Real Madrid in real danger?
There are still three games to go in the Champions League, as Real Madrid take on Atalanta, Salzburg and Brest. Those three games should be winnable, particularly the last two, and as long as they are, Real Madrid will qualify comfortably. With a four-point gap to the top eight, which means direct qualification for the last 16, Los Blancos should begin planning for an additional qualifying round which they most certainly could have done without. The biggest challenge comes in Bergamo, Italy, in just two weeks’ time. Failure to win there could be problematic given Real Madrid’s 24th-placed position at present. A draw or loss in Italy would almost certainly mean dropping out of the qualification positions, and Brest have surprised many. Qualification should be straightforward, but Real Madrid are running out of lives.
3. Did Carlo Ancelotti get it wrong?
The way in which Real Madrid replaced Vinícius Júnior for this tie was always going to be subject to debate. Some expected a 4-2-3-1 with Endrick, others expected Jude Bellingham as a false nine, and others thought Mbappé could line up centrally again. In the end, Ancelotti surprised everyone, seemingly other than the Liverpool defence. In truth, it is hard to pin the blame on Ancelotti. Mbappé has already been discussed, but Arda Güler had one of his worst performances in a Real Madrid shirt, Brahim Díaz was anonymous and Jude Bellingham contributed little. Defensively, Real Madrid were strong and it was only when the midfield were exposed that they looked vulnerable. Much of that came from mistakes in the first line of defence, which is the attack. Ancelotti could’ve made changes earlier, but what changes? His bench options were so limited that there was little he could do differently.