We got knocked out by the best team in the world right now. As ever, Italian coaching luminary Carlo Ancelotti used the right words to comment on his Real Madrid (M)’s 2-0 away loss to Liverpool in their Champions League fifth round tie.
The English team remained the only one with a full asset, already 15 points, in the most prestigious club tournament in Europe, and in the Premier League it has an 8-point lead at the top over the second-placed Manchester City.
Statistics that inevitably point to “Liverpool” being the team in top form on the Old Continent at the moment.
For the Merseysiders, the success also meant stopping a long streak without winning a match against Real.
The last time “Liverpool” prevailed over the Spanish giant was at the beginning of 2009, or nearly 16 years ago.
Then, at Anfield, the home team beat Madrid 4:0 in the 1/8-final rematch of the Champions League. Before that, the “Merseysiders” won 1:0 in the Spanish capital to advance to the quarter-finals with a total of 5:0.
There followed a total of 8 matches between “Liverpool” and “Real” until the one on Wednesday evening. In them, the English representative recorded 7 losses and 1 draw. Now the total statistics are already 7 wins for “Real”, 4 for “Liverpool” and 1 draw.
Anfield’s troubles were also of a private nature. New Madrid megastar Kylian Mbappe missed his first penalty in the Champions League after saving Irishman Quivin Kelleher.
This added more bitterness to the Frenchman’s first season with the “Real” jersey. The striker has faced criticism for his performances, was accused of rape in Swedish territory while on a partying holiday and did not play in October and November for France.
First he decided to rest, then coach Didier Deschamps announced that he had decided so. In general, however, there is clearly tension in this area as well.