This is how Liverpool arrives in the draw against Real Madrid

Titans fight. The first game at Anfield and the second at Santiago Bernabéu A power-to-power draw between the last two Champions League finalists in Paris. That night, the white team won another title in a disastrous night for the Reds, but especially for their fans.

The crossing comes amid the unfortunate memory of what happened outside the Stade de France before and after the match. The English fans had extreme difficulties in accessing the stadium and a few days ago it was shown that they were not guilty but victims of bad police procedures, in addition to the false accusations made by the establishment in France (and several renowned journalists in Spain) after the match.

That day, Real Madrid and Liverpool fans gathered after the game to defend against robberies and attempted robberies around the stadium. On this occasion, both are threatened again. On this occasion due to the lack of tickets for visiting fans in both stadiums. UEFA imposes a minimum of 5% of the stadium’s capacity. But Florentino Pérez only wanted to give the Reds 1,800 tickets (when it should have been between 3,000 and 3,500) and there will only be 1,500 Real Madrid fans at Anfield (when it normally would have been 2,300).

In football, Liverpool arrive at the best time of the season. To do this, however, they only needed a few consecutive wins in games of any difficulty (the Merseyside Derby and the game against Newcastle away from home). Rediscovering oneself and recovering key players after injuries of a certain duration (Van Dijk, Diogo Jota, Firmino). He finally finds some balance in midfield with Fabinho, Henderson and Bajcetic (North West England’s man of the hour).

This series of pieces is reminiscent of a Liverpool that will base its strategy on transition. The physical presence of Núñez on the left wing, Gakpo in the center plus Salah’s virtuosity on the right make Klopp’s team a formidable team. Alisson in goal is having a great season (partly caused by poor defensive performance).

There are still several unknowns about how the team will present the defense against Vinicius with the infinite flaws on the right side or what will be the reaction of players with little experience in these scenarios, such as Bajcetic, Núñez or Gakpo himself. But there are still remnants of the team that even reached the final of Kiev in 2018 (Salah, Van Dijk. Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Firmino or Milner). Klopp’s pillars.

Liverpool have a lot at stake in this draw. With a very irregular step in the Premier League and eliminated from the FA Cup (by Brighton) and the League Cup (by Manchester City). They have not been able to beat Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea and have even been beaten by lesser rivals such as Brentford, Leeds, Wolverhampton Wanderers or even Nottingham Forest.

In the event of a fall and failure to recover from flight, who knows what decision Klopp might make at the end of the season. Ingratitude has appeared in some (minimal) sectors of the fans and the German coach is thinking about it. All this, with the club for sale, the internal structure of the club in full overhaul and a stadium under renovation (at the bottom of Anfield Road). Things are looking better in Liverpool than a week ago, but mud continues to surround the team and the club. They play a lot.

Pessimism is well established among fans in light of the recent precedents of 2018, 2021 and 2022. Three rounds for Real Madrid and that sense of power and infallibility at the big events overwhelms any Reds fan. It will be an incredible draw and a great deal. It’s a battle of giants. But Madrid is favourite.

Juan Yague