'This is Anfield'. That's the last the Real Madrid players will see before the battle. Hanging in the last section of the changing room tunnel of the old stadium, it is not a courtesy but a warning sign. He was hanged for the first time on the orders of Bill Shankly, at the suggestion of a gardener, Bert Johnson, to the club secretary, Peter Robinson. Johnson actually came up with the phrase “Welcome to Anfield.” The mythical coach found it too polite. “We won't put that up. We won't tell them they're coming to have a good time.” So it was 'This is Anfield'. “It's there to remind our boys who they play for and to remind the opponent who they play against.” Shankly explained. That first poster was auctioned and hangs on the walls of a 'bed and breakfast' in the Isle of Man. The current, third, was the suggestion of Brendan Rodgers and the last patron, Jürgen Klopp, prohibited his footballers from touching him before jumping onto the field, as was the custom, except for those who had won a great title. Now most are licensed to do so.
That is Liverpool, a club whose pride does not fit on the shield, a compelling reason to make them especially dangerous even in such adverse conditions as the current ones. The Barça fed that faith two years ago. Nothing has changed in a week. Klopp is still missing his three best center-backs (Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Matip) and his captain, Jordan Henderson. But on that night of Barça hecatomb he did not have Salah, Keita and Firmino either and he survived 3-0 at the Camp Nou, it is true that with the support of an audience that he will not have today. The Kop will be silent (follow today's game live on As.com).
Two doubts
Klopp will tweak the eleven minimally. As in Madrid, there are few vacancies. One, that of the midfielder who will accompany Fabinho and Wijnaldum, who will walk between Keita, Thiago and Milner. The first failed in Valdebebas, the second did not just start and the last one he put on Saturday and looks like he will repeat against Madrid. The third man in the attack is the other unknown: Diogo Jota or Firmino. The first has scored twice as many goals (12 against 6) playing half the minutes. The second has the office and the service record. Smells like a headline.
Jürgen Klopp, during a Liverpool training session.
REUTERS
Put whoever you put, the plan will be the same. A very high pressure that did not appear in Madrid and the crazy rhythm that takes the rival out of his comfort zone. Klopp's law, obsessed with the rapid recovery of the ball to the point that in training it invalidates the goals that are achieved if the whole team is not in the opposite field. “Our identity is intensity. Here we press with the heart”, His assistant, Pepijn Lijnders, explained to El País a long time ago. And it is that Klopp demands that maximum concentration even from the ball boys.
The Anfield crowd is a necessary contributor to strategy and their absence has been a lead for the team. Until the victory against Aston Villa he chained six consecutive defeats in his stadium, many against small rivals (Burnley, Brighton, Fulham …).
Zidane's defensive puzzle
That void should help Madrid, which the casualties advise to defend itself by attacking. Lucas Vázquez's injury, added to the absences of Carvajal, Ramos and Varane, leaves considerable damage and puts Zidane in a bind. The natural replacement is Odriozola, but he is off point. His disturbing 47 minutes against Barça were the first in two months. The solution remains to change Mendy's wing (he has played four games in two years on the right), but that reduces his offensive potential and forces him to shoot Marcelo in a defense of four, another high-risk measure. It is also worth as an alternative to play with three centrals (Mendy would be the third) and two long sides (Valverde or Odriozola and Marcelo). And there are still more outlandish solutions, such as delaying Casemiro and placing Nacho on the side. In any case, Everything indicates that Madrid will only play with two points (Benzema and Vinicius) and that Asensio will be a second instance appeal, with the conviction that it will be easier, given the degradation of both defenses, to mark that not fit.
Fatigue, despite Zidane's warning, will be distributed. Modric, Courtois or Kroos are over forty games, but Salah is at his height, Mané surpasses them and Robertson or Wijnaldum are over fifty. The statistics, on the other hand, are on the side of Madrid in this Champions League: he scores more goals, concedes less, shoots a third more times, receives almost half the shots, his precision in the pass is higher by seven points and his possession, in six. Good data to which Zidane would add the warning that in 90 minutes you can fall shooting thirty times. Ask Bayern.