The night of the 'children' "The opinion of the míster goes to mass"
Tactical genius A star burns and it's called Vinicius
Chronicle Vinicius dreams awake (3-1)
Bad night 'red' A Liverpool in no man's land
The Lawnmower The Genetics of a Champion
"First of all I have to say that we did not deserve to win. We did not play well enough and that is my first concern. We made it too easy for him."
Jürgen Klopp's
first reaction
reflected the painful reality of Liverpool.
There are already four consecutive defeats against Real Madrid.
The worst streak of his glorious European career, where he had only chained a similar disaster, between 1984 and 2010, against Benfica.
And two stumbles in a row by the German coach against
Zinedine Zidane
, who yesterday, as in the final in Kiev, again surpassed him in the tactical battle.
How did
Zizou do it
?
Where did Klopp go wrong?
The power of the center
After the last minute
loss
of
Raphael Varane
, Zidane put together his scheme in a 4-3-3 based on the hierarchy of
Casemiro
,
Toni Kroos
and
Luka Modric
.
With that center of the field, he completed Klopp's plan, whose bet on
Naby Keita
was unsuccessful.
"He did not play well, but I cannot say that it was all his fault. At that time he could have made many changes," he commented on the change of the Guinean, who was replaced in minute 42 by
Thiago Alcántara
.
While Madrid released the high pressure to come out from behind with amazing ease, the visitors were weighed down by the very weak performance of Keita, the third most expensive signing in history at Anfield (60 million euros in 2017).
After two injuries and a positive for Covid, Keita was starting for the second time this season.
It was an unacceptable risk.
The unchecks to space
Klopp detailed it at a press conference with his unmistakable didactic tone.
"You can't defend Madrid's speed when you leave them the ball at the wrong time. If you lose it at another time it's fine, but we miss a lot of simple passes and they have world-class players in one-on-one," revealed the former coach. from Dortmund.
Without mentioning the names of
Vinicius
or
Marcos Asensio
, Klopp admitted his defeat on the board against Zidane, who boosted shipments to the extremes.
Outside with a kick from
Thibaut Courtois
or a courtesy from Kroos.
The Brazilian, on the left, completed numerous breakthroughs that tormented
Trent Alexander-Arnold
.
Risks after the break
Since the 2005 final against Milan, with that blazing 0-3, Liverpool did not concede two goals before the break in a knockout tie in the Champions League.
For this reason, Klopp needed another urgent rectification.
"In the second half we played better. We tried to create some difficult situation for them," Klopp summed up about his variant on the board.
It all consisted of raising the pressure one more level, to make it difficult to get the ball out, despite the fact that this would expose him to a three against three in his own field.
In just a few minutes
Mohamed Salah's
goal crystallized
, but this team still has a long way to go to maintain that level of demand.
It was his 10th loss in 2021, the worst record in his history since 1954, a season that ended in demotion.
From Kiev to Anfield
Klopp's bad loss, which was already recorded in the 2018 final, was again substantiated in his criticism of
Felix Brych
.
"I don't understand what the referee did. I think it was something personal with
Sadio Mané,
" he revealed about a controversial action by the Senegalese against
Lucas Vázquez
.
The psychological advantage of that 3-1 continues to play in favor of Zidane, capable yesterday of repeating the same digit, with greater tactical superiority if possible.
The precedents from now on smile at Madrid, which has qualified in 15 of the 16 Champions League qualifiers in which it took advantage in the first leg.
The only fiasco came in the second round of 2019 against Ajax.
And next Wednesday, not a single fan
network
will display their flags on
the Kop
.
Despite everything, Klopp is never going to give up.
"We have to go for everything and fight until the end. It will be very different to play without an audience, but we will try. There are possibilities, although we must play much better."
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Thibaut Courtois
Luka modric
Real Madrid
Covid 19
sports
soccer
Champions League
Marco Asensio
Toni Kroos
Casemiro
FútbolY Vinicius exploded: the message of Zidane, his 'older brother' Casemiro and the family as a psychologist
ChampionsUn Liverpool in no man's land takes the same result as Kiev
LaLigaAsensio, the footballer of the details, opens the way against Eibar before Madrid's passion week
See links of interest
2021 business calendar
Home THE WORLD TODAY
Real Madrid - Liverpool, live
Manchester City - Borussia Dortmund