The result of last week’s Champions League quarterfinal fixture between Real Madrid and Liverpool made fans all over the world cast their minds back to the dramatic 2018 climax when the two European juggernauts were drawn against each other. Their long-awaited clash didn’t disappoint. In fact, the score line was exactly the same with Los Blancos once again running away 3-1 victors, though Liverpool aren’t finished in 90 minutes as they were in the one-off clash in Kiev.
Real Madrid took the lead in stunning circumstances when a brilliant Toni Kroos’ pass was finished off by Vinicius Junior, before Marco Asensio doubled their lead due to an error by the Liverpool right back Trent Alexander Arnold.
Mohammad Salah did bring hope to the Liverpool fans in the second half when he scored a goal. Shortly a shot from Viniciusensured that Real Madrid was the better team that day.
Liverpool have struggled in the past year due to which their place in the Champions League is on the line.
As such, many supporters were looking at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano clash through the eyes of the managers, comparing how Jurgen Klopp and Zinedine Zidane handled this important fixture.
A crucial way that Zidane set up Real to get the best out of Kroos was by using Asensio and Vinicius to occupy the half-spaces and therefore pull Naby Keita, Georginio Wijnaldum and Fabinho deeper.
This, in turn, ensured that Kroos would have more space whenever he dropped into the deep-lying midfield position to either dictate the play as a ‘quarterback’ or kickstart shorter passing moves.
The German midfielder once again proved that he is the right choice in the mid field area. Thinking about it, Kroos is just 31 and it seems like he has been dominating European midfields forever.
Kroos’ 10/10 display was set in motion from the moment that Real Madrid asserted their authority on the game, providing the mother of all assists for Vinicius Junior to open the scoring.
It was the world cup winner’s day. Kroos did not stop after the first assist, in fact the second goal was also assisted by the German midfielder. Last touch of Marco Asensio and an error by Trent Alexander Arnold helped Real Madrid to enhance their lead to 2-0.
Since the start it seemed like Liverpool players are dancing puppets. The world class passes by Kroos and that too till the last whistle made the men in red go breathless.
In the end it was nothing but a show from Real Madrid. Not just the players but the coach Zidane played a big role in the victory as well. The tactical changes were just out of this world. Klopp, the Liverpool coach could not even get close to Zidane’s class. Zidane is the reason Kroos made every ball that came to him look so easy. The formation and tactics favoured Kroos. He had all the space in the field to himself.
As soon as the 90 minutes were over, fans all over the social media went crazy. Real Madrid won 3-1 and told the world this is how a world class team plays.
