MOTD: Liverpool 0-3 Real Madrid

By on October 22, 2014

Anfield has been the backyard playground of so many greats down the years. Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush, and more recently, Steven Gerrard. And while Gerrard was on the pitch at Anfield tonight, as captain of Liverpool, it wasn’t his playground. Five years ago when the two sides met at Anfield, it was. Gerrard scored twice as Liverpool trashed Madrid 4-0, but how things can change in five years. Tonight, the pitch was Cristiano Ronaldo’s playground. Real Madrid as a whole influenced the same domination that formerly belonged to Liverpool.

To put it simply, there was no denying the gulf in class between the two sides. This week we have seen multiple thrashings, including 6-0 and 7-1 wins, but this match, more so than others, represented the power money can by. Cristiano Ronaldo, once one of Liverpool’s greatest enemies at his time at Manchester United, was applauded off the pitch by both home and away fans. The moment was one of those in which you just cannot deny the brilliance of a team. Sure, Liverpool had their faults, but in the end they could hardly do more than raise there hands in defeat and recognize that Madrid were simply better than they were. At very least Brendan Rodgers’ side can applaud themselves for their effort.

For the opening twenty minutes, Liverpool took it to Madrid. Via high pressing, they immediately set the match to a high tempo. Early on Iker Casillas awkwardly parried Gerrard’s dipping long range effort, and nearly allowed a Liverpool corner to fall behind him into the back of the net. But of course, Liverpool could not keep the pace up for long. Ronaldo’s opening goal signified the definite moment in which Liverpool lost control. But credit to Liverpool, it took genius – Cristiano Ronaldo – to break them.

The Portuguese forward gather the ball in central midfield, exchanged a one-two with Karim Benzema, then another with Isco, who’s scooped return ball put Ronaldo in behind Liverpool’s two center-backs. And even then it took the best finish Anfield has seen in a long time to score. Ronaldo was just inches ahead of Martin Skrtel, yet somehow managed to poke a volley across the goal into the bottom left corner. The fact that Ronaldo had never managed to score at Anfield in his entire time at Manchester United only goes to show what five years can do.

It might have been Liverpool, or it might have been Ronaldo, but either way The Reds couldn’t get close to Ronaldo. At times it almost looked as if he way toying with them. As evident in the second goal, they struggled to defend Benzema as well. Liverpool were so attent to Ronaldo they almost forgot about the Frenchman, who managed to head home a Toni Kroos’ cross at the far post from the remainders of a Madrid corner completely unmarked. And just eleven minutes later, four minutes before the half, Benzema helped himself to another goal. Again he took the advantage of Liverpool focusing on Ronaldo’s arial presence, and as a corner sailed over Ronaldo, the ball got scraped into the path of Benzema, who prodded it home. This time there was no doubt it was poor defending from Liverpool.

Philippe Coutinho hit the post soon after, but it took a few fine saves from Mignolet to deny Ronaldo more goals on the other side of the half. The second half was controlled by Madrid, and if they wanted to have they could have easily bagged more. Yet they didn’t need any more. The gap between the two sides was just so big that they knew Liverpool could certainly not come back.
Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.