Vinicius Junior on Tuesday scored twice as Real Madrid made Liverpool pay for more defensive errors, a 3-1 victory putting them in sight of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
Vinicius and Marco Asensio profited in the first half after darting behind Liverpool’s makeshift back line before a simple move from a throw-in gave Vinicius a simple finish in the second.
Mohamed Salah’s strike shortly after the interval briefly made it a contest at Valdebebas, Spain, with an away goal certainly a significant consolation for Liverpool to take into the second leg at Anfield next week.
Photo: AFP
Yet without fans and with a miserable recent record at home, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp must know his side have to do their all to avoid their season becoming solely about scraping into the English Premier League’s top four.
“We didn’t play well enough, that’s my first concern,” Klopp said. “We didn’t deserve to win tonight, but the good news is that there is another match.”
Except for two spells after halftime and at the finish, when their opponents were holding on to what they had, Liverpool were overpowered by Real Madrid, whose only disappointment might be missing out on a clearer margin ahead of their return in eight days’ time.
Before then, they go up against Barcelona on Saturday.
“Nothing is close, nothing is won,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We are alive in two competitions and we will keep fighting. We will start the second leg like it’s 0-0, because it will be another very difficult game.”
Madrid were without Sergio Ramos, who throughout was bellowing at his team from the stands, while Raphael Varane testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning meant both sides were fielding patched-up back fours.
The last time the two clubs met, Ramos dislocated Salah’s shoulder and Real went on to win their 13th European Cup, but Klopp insisted there was no desire for revenge in the minds of his players.
They could have done with some extra fire because Madrid were superior in the first half, more controlled in possession and more aggressive out of it. Liverpool seemed caught between trying to match Madrid’s intensity and slowing the game down to gain a foothold.
In the end they did neither, as the openings came early. Luka Modric wanted a penalty after being clipped just outside the box and Trent Alexander-Arnold was beaten too easily by Ferland Mendy, whose cross was headed just wide by Vinicius.
The excellent Toni Kroos was given space at the base of midfield to dictate the tempo, and it was a pair of arrowed balls forward from the German that put Madrid in charge.
The first he fired between Nat Phillips and Alexander-Arnold for the scampering Vinicius, who did brilliantly to chest the ball beyond his opponents and shoot low into the Liverpool net.
Seven minutes later, Kroos did it again, this time with the aid of a badly misguided Alexander-Arnold header, locating Asensio, who lifted over Alisson Becker to leave himself with an open net.
The break briefly had an effect, Liverpool pulling a goal back five minutes after as Georginio Wijnaldum tore forward and Diogo Jota’s shot deflected into the path of Salah, who sent it in off the crossbar.
Yet another Madrid chance was not far away, as Liverpool failed to react to a throw-in down the right and Modric was allowed to drift inside, teeing up Vinicius to sidefoot in a second.
Liverpool pushed for another away goal in the final minutes, but Madrid were not troubled. It was Spanish cheers that could be heard when the whistle blew.
TAKE TWO: Tainan TSG are the favorites going into this season, which starts on Sunday. They have fearsome forwards and national ’keeper Pan Wen-chieh between the posts Defending champions Tainan TSG (Taiwan Steel Group) face a tough challenge from their southern neighbors Taipower and CPC FC when the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) season starts this weekend with four matches on Sunday. Promoting grassroots soccer, and organizing relegation and promotion between the top and second divisions last year was important for the progression of Taiwanese soccer, CTFA chairman Chiou I-jen told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “We are going in the right direction ... and becoming more competitive” for international competitions, Chiou said. Still the favorites, Tainan TSG have the league’s most fearsome forwards, with three international star players.
INSULT: Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby was involved in a heated exchange with Cadiz’s Juan Cala before indicating to the referee that he was leaving the pitch Valencia’s players on Sunday walked off during their La Liga game with Cadiz in protest against racist abuse, with coach Javi Gracia later claiming they were told they would be punished if they refused to resume the match. The fixture was stopped in the 37th minute after Valencia said their player Mouctar Diakhaby was the victim of a racial insult. Diakhaby had been involved in a heated exchange with Cadiz’s Juan Cala before indicating to the referee David Medie Jimenez that he was leaving the pitch. The Frenchman’s teammates followed him off and Cadiz also went down the tunnel soon after. About 15
Nine-year-old Thai kickboxer Pornpattara “Tata” Peachaurai is eager to get back in the ring after COVID-19 curbs brought his fight season to a halt more than five months ago. The money he earns is vital income for his family. “All the money from boxing, the regular payment and the tips, it all goes to mum,” the lean young fighter said. “I’m proud to be a boxer and to earn money for my mum.” Tata’s last fight was in October last year, before a second COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand shut down sports events as bans on large gatherings were reimposed. “I cannot box. I
After several humbling losses to the West Division leaders, the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday sent quite the message to the Colorado Avalanche in their last of eight regular-season matchups. Eight was more than enough for the Wild to slow the Avalanche. Kevin Fiala notched his first career hat-trick, while Kirill Kaprizov had two of Minnesota’s three power-play goals as the sharp-shooting Wild beat Colorado 8-3 to hand the Avalanche their first regulation loss in 16 games. “We can play against you guys,” Fiala said. “If we’re going to meet them in the playoffs.” Luke Johnson, Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored as
RSS