display
Liverpool (AP) - National player Toni Kroos has with Real Madrid with routine and luck fended off all efforts of Liverpool and is again in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Despite the best opportunities, coach Jürgen Klopp's team in the stadium on Anfield Road couldn't get past 0-0 and was eliminated after the Spaniards 3-1 win in the first leg.
In the semifinals, Madrid will meet Chelsea FC, trained by Thomas Tuchel, with the national team trio Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Antonio Rüdiger - Klopp, on the other hand, has to concentrate fully on a final spurt in the Premier League with the Reds in order to continue in the coming season but to be back in the competition of the best European teams.
Because in the Premier League, Liverpool are only in sixth place with seven game days to go, the best four English teams are qualified for the Champions League.
display
After the defeat in the 2018 final, it was the next bitter episode for Liverpool in the duel with Real, there has been no victory against the Spaniards for more than twelve years.
Of the problems from large parts of the season, nothing to be seen in the second leg.
Neither the attack on the way to the stadium, when so-called fans of the hosts threw objects at the team bus and a pane was broken, nor Liverpool's many scoring chances, however, unsettled Madrid, which was coached by Zinedine Zidane.
Already after two minutes Mohamed Salah had the first big chance for the Champions League winner of 2019, less than a minute later Sadio Mané brought the next dangerous ball into the penalty area of Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian international was also there in the eleventh minute when James Milner pulled from distance for Liverpool.
There was no shortage of opportunities, but the British were wasteful of it in the second half as well.
The Real, led by the three-man midfield around Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, hardly appeared offensively, but still radiated enough danger to slow down Liverpool's counter-pressing again and again.
Karim Benzema had the best opportunity when his deflected shot hit the post after 20 minutes.
display
Klopp took ex-Bundesliga player Ozan Kabak from central defense and Milner from midfield in the closing stages, bringing in ex-Bayern Thiago and Diogo Jota.
Later came Xherdan Shaqiri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The hopes for another sensational comeback for Liverpool were not fulfilled.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210414-99-208146 / 3
Liverpool-Real Madrid at uefa.com