Jurgen Klopp has managed to get the confidence back into his side and this was very much visible when they tore apart Arsenal on Saturday. And now with this renewed energy, they face Real Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League, the first leg being played in Spain on Tuesday.
The Anfield outfit have been having defensive troubles all throughout this season but they finally seem to have gotten some stability in the form of Ozan Kabak and Nat Phillips playing at centre-back. The pair have managed to keep three consecutive clean sheets which is why Jurgen Klopp has hinted strongly at using the same backline vs Real Madrid.
Klopp said in his press conference: “It’s a reason[the clean sheets]. It’s not the only reason but it’s a reason, 100 per cent. It helps massively if you work longer together and play longer together.
“But I said it after the game directly, [it was] very important that the whole set-up, the whole line-up defended with big determination, massively disciplined, it was everything what you need, close the right spaces, everybody felt responsible.
“That makes a difference. Tomorrow will be a proper test for that, by the way, because the opponent obviously asks for defensive organisation and we can show there that they are on the right path.”
Frankly speaking, the manager does not have too many defensive options for Tuesday and with Jordan Henderson out with an injury, Klopp just cannot experiment.
Apart from the defensive aspect, the Liverpool boss has also hinted that attacking is one of his side’s forte which is why they might be looking to start the match on the front foot much like they did in the 2018 Champions League final.
“We were good in the game, that’s true,” he added. “And after that [Mohamed Salah’s injury], we were not in the game anymore and Real came up and started dominating the game. Actually, our team is built for these kind of games.
“We face a football-playing side, which is very helpful for football in general but for our kind of defending as well, and that’s why we have a chance, absolutely. I heard outside already everybody says Real Madrid is favourite – great, no problem at all with that.
“They are used to the role and we have no problem with the role of the challenger. How I said, we want to give it a proper try. We know that we were good that night but 25 minutes being really good in the final was never enough, and nobody’s interested when they look back in 10, 15 years how we played the first 25 minutes – but we knew it anyway.
“But it was a different time, we were in a different place, since then a lot of things happened. So, we feel good in our situation but we know that we face a difficult opponent of course.”
With Diogo Jota in fine form, Jurgen Klopp will obviously ask his side to take the game to Real Madrid so that they can pick up an early away goal.
Liverpool might have had a great outing against Arsenal but in all fairness, the Gunners did very little to trouble Kabak and Phillips. Players like Benzema and Asensio are much more talented and are sure to ask a few questions of the Liverpool backline on Tuesday. And maybe this is why, attack will be the best form of defence for Jurgen Klopp and his team.
