Liverpool were taught a Champions League Lesson by European Champions last night as Real Madrid toyed with the Reds and beat them 3-0 in their own backyard.
The history was against the Spaniards having lost all games, conceding 6 and scoring none vs Liverpool in three encounters.
It was a completely different story this time around as Los Blancos dominated all game and should have really made the scoreline much worse for the merseysiders.
Reds still miss their dynamic duo of Suarez (sold) and Sturridge (injured) in attack as Balotelli looks helpless as a lone striker upfront.
However, sooner or later, Brendan Rodgers can fix the attack, that is what he is good at but it is quite evident that he just can’t fix this mess of a Liverpool defense.
Summer 2013, Rodgers signed four defenders in the form of Toure, Sakho, Ilori and Cissokho and goalie Mignolet. Taking into consideration that more than decent defenders like Skrtel and Agger were there as well. The defense remained shambolic as they conceded 50 goals in the league.
This summer, BR secured Manquillo, Moreno and Lovren and the defensive problem remains the same, especially when it is about crosses and set-pieces.
To say that he has bad defenders at his disposal would be wrong but BR is surely not someone really good at organizing defense.
Last night, Ronaldo’s goal was sheer class but the rest was usual Liverpool comedy defense. Second goal, Lost the ball trying to counter on the right edge, Madrid trolled them with few passes, Kroos gets it with 10 Liverpool players in front of him but no one closed him down.
The German crossed it with no pressure and found Benzema who was again unmarked at the far end.
Third goal was an obvious ritual of conceding from at least one corner/set-piece every game.
How much more time BR needs to sort out the defense? How many more signings? Lovren was leader for Saints but looks far from commanding for the Reds. Seems that even with world class players like Hummels and Silva, BR’s defensive tactics will never be able to solve this defensive dilemma and he surely needs a quality assistant here.
Liverpool might be able to get the top 4 again if they improve their attack. However, to reach heights in Europe and Champions League like the days of Benitez, solid defense is a must.
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Even with Hummels & Silva, BR Can't Fix Liverpool Defense
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Oh.That was more than a lesson.,too much to bear. Of course one of the lesson is don’t just rush to participate to big matches because you can be striped. Very sorry for them. This time they walked alone.
I made my comments on this site last night as the match was happening. After having slept on it my mood has not really changed on it. The formation I believe was wrong and should have gone with a 4-4-2. Even though I understand that the season is still young, unless there is a total 180 turnaround in not only his positional play but his general work ethic, Balotelli is not going to last long here. Moreno and Lovren were, for defenders, big ticket items with Lovren seen to be a leader at the back. That last night, was nowhere to be seen. The defense was shambolic to say the least with no-one seeming to want to stand up and be able to lead the line. Now I realize we were playing Real Madrid but two of the three goals conceded were poor errors that at this level, do not get forgiven. The only hope now is that Liverpool have to hope the other teams in their group lose their games otherwise after all the years of waiting, their Champions League return will be over.
Not under Brenda it won’t.