Real Madrid showed cracks in their ceiling once again in a 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday night. A goal from Alexis Mac Allister ensured a win for Liverpool after a dominant performance, and gave Real Madrid their first loss of their Champions League campaign. Here are three observations from the match:
Real Madrid’s build-up and off-ball problems return
After having the two best performances of the season so far, fans were expecting a lot more from this Real Madrid side than what they actually got. Real Madrid struggled under Liverpool’s press, even with the lion’s share of possession.
The problems from last season came back to haunt them against Liverpool. Real Madrid looked more similar to their version of last season than the team from the Clasico or the win over Valencia. In many ways, too. They struggled to build out from the back, even after adding press-resistant ball-progressors like Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras to the roster this season. Huijsen, especially, had one of his worst performances in a Real Madrid shirt on and off the ball. It was not anything new — it was not a new problem, but that is the point, right?
Real Madrid struggled, and in many ways, Liverpool made them struggle. The press at Anfield was miles better than Barcelona’s 10 days ago. At the same time, the way Real Madrid handled the press was also much worse than the Clásico. There was little to no off-ball movement from anyone apart from Carreras or Jude Bellingham — sometimes Arda Güler helped too — in the team’s biggest Champions League match. Even when they were struggling to keep possession, the team looked out of ideas, and seemingly out of breath because of Liverpool’s suffocating pressure.
Even off the ball, Real Madrid looked like they did not have a plan A or plan B. After the game, Alonso said that he “did not see a lack of intensity”, but Real Madrid were not pressing. At all. They were not winning many of their duels. They were just very passive. There were so many pressing triggers to capitalise on, which Real Madrid failed to do. Ibrahima Konate struggled with the ball in a few sequences, and yet, Real Madrid’s press was not enough to break his stride. Conor Bradley was not the most press-resistant player on that Liverpool XI, nor was Mamardashvili. And yet, Real Madrid severely lacked the intensity to hurt them. Against Barcelona, Real Madrid players hounded Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia whenever they looked uncomfortable. They moved like maniacs, and counter-pressed a lot better than they did at Anfield. Maybe the plan was just to sit back and hurt Liverpool in transitions, but Real Madrid failed to do that as well. It was baffling.
It is also worth noting that Real Madrid keep being a mess on set-pieces. Real Madrid’s zone defense was awful in set-pieces, and one of the shortest players on that Liverpool team was allowed to score an open header. That is something that needs addressing, especially with the number of tall, physical players Real Madrid have.
Real Madrid were beyond toothless in the final third
Real Madrid, for a team with 57% possession, struggled a lot with the ball. In the occasions where they were actually allowed to go to Liverpool’s final third — or when they were able to bypass Liverpool’s press — they did not do anything with it. This was a poor showing when it really mattered. Habits from last season began to resurface in the attacking third, and if anything, it got worse in the second half, when they started trailing.
Real Madrid created an xG of just 0.45 at Anfield on Tuesday night. Their attack was toothless in the first half, so there was a need to improve immediately after the break. As it turned out, Los Blancos were only able to muster up an xG of 0.12 in the second half. On paper, that sounds shocking for a team that has largely been on an upward trajectory under Alonso, but if you watched the game, it could not have been more accurate.
Real Madrid’s plan in the attack seemed simple enough: once they were able to escape Liverpool’s press, they would get the ball to Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe would then pass it to Vinicius Jr on the overlap. After that, it would be a U-shaped recycled possession until someone crosses the ball into the box with no one waiting on the other end of it.
Real Madrid’s midfield lacked creativity as well. Güler, who wasn’t the reason Real Madrid lost, did end up with zero key passes for the first time since August. He had zero passes into the penalty area for just the third time this season. He had two progressive passes — only the third time all season where it was either that or lower. Real Madrid needed him to be creative, but Güler also needed his forwards to be more dynamic and proactive than they were.
Alonso’s substitutions were also exhausting. He brought on Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo, neither of whom provided much in attack. He failed to bring on Endrick, who had an explosive cameo on the right against Valencia. Real Madrid needed his explosiveness on that side, even though he hadn’t played much before this game, especially against a tired Andy Robertson in the second half (Milos Kerkez only came on in the 87th minute). Real Madrid crossed the ball eight times in the match, and not one of those eight crosses was successful. On the other end, Liverpool did the same 10 times, but five of them found a red shirt inside the box. Gonzalo Garcia may or may not have scored against Liverpool had he come on, but he would have definitely brought in that intensity, incisiveness, and link-up play that Real Madrid desperately lacked in the second half. And, of course, that much-needed presence in the box.
The minor positives
Real Madrid may have only lost 1-0, but it would have been far worse if it weren’t for Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian made eight saves, and almost all of them were exceptional. Dominic Szoboszlai had four brilliant shots on target, some from range, one from inside the box, and all of them were brilliantly parried away by Courtois. There was a Virgil Van Dijk header from point-blank range that was somehow kept out of the goal. As bad as Real Madrid looked, Courtois deserves no blame for what happened.
The goal they conceded was a result of poor defending in set-pieces, and there wasn’t a lot Courtois could have done to keep that header away. “I’d rather make no saves and win than make as many as I did today,” were Courtois’ words after the game on Tuesday night. There is a lot to work on.
Carreras was solid against Mohamed Salah for the most part. There were a few rash challenges, but he also had a few really good interventions that stopped genuine goalscoring opportunities. Carreras and Salah were involved in many interesting duels, with Salah only succeeding in a few, which was good to see. He still has things to improve on, but he is one of the players who can hold their head high.
Eder Militao was also solid defensively. One tackle, one interception and nine clearances, and even in one of Real Madrid’s worst games of the season, Militao looked good.
Liverpool absolutely deserved the win, and there is a lot to work on for Alonso and Real Madrid.