Shock and Disbelief

So today I woke up ready to catch up on my blog where Potter gets Smashed To Pieces, but then I saw the Champions League scores from last night and Anfield….

This was supposed to be the showdown of the season between the two leviathans of European football. Heck, it was even a repeat of last year final when it was only a virtuoso performance from the keeper in the visitors goal last night that stopped the hosts completing a treble. The hosts were a team that had been two games away from etching their names in immorality with an unprecedented Quadruple last season.

Coming into this season the vast majority of Europe knew that they were the team to beat well not anymore, we’re looking at the score in shock and disbelief.

Yes Real Madrid have an incredible legacy of success at this level with an unrivalled 14 titles from 17 visits to the final, but Liverpool are the most successful English team in Europe. Their 6 titles from 10 final visits is double the titles and final visits of their closest domestic rivals on the list, Manchester United. Plus their record in European fixtures at Anfield, with the crowd roaring them on is fearsome. Not just a fortress where they rip teams to shreds, but also the setting for many an improbable, glorious comeback where victory is ripped from the jaws of certain defeat.

It was in this cauldron of past invincibility that they took the lead within 4 minutes of kick-off, Darwin Nunez finishing off a beautiful team move with an exquisite backheeled flick past Courtois. Things look even rosier for the hosts when they doubled their lead 10 minutes later, Salah taking advantage of a Courtois mistake to rifle the ball home off the outside of his right boot. So Liverpool were now 2-0 up and the game wasn’t even 15 minutes old.

The Liverpool of old, basically any Liverpool team under Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, Dalglish, Benitez or current manager Jurgen Klopp would have run riot from this position and inflicted a humiliating defeat on the team that has robbed them of European glory in 2 of their last 3 final appearances.

This however is not the Liverpool of old and this season they have looked capable of collapsing the second the slightest thing goes wrong. So it would prove to be again last night. It took 7 minutes for Real to get a goal back after going 2-0 down. Then when Vinicius Jr. eradicated their deficit 10 minutes before half time, pouncing on a mistake by Allison to double both his and his team’s tally for the evening, Madrid smelt blood in the water and the hosts crumbled.

It took just 180 seconds of the second half for the Spaniard’s to take the lead and then they secured it with a Benzema brace either side of the hour mark. From going 2 goals down within 15 minutes, at such a difficult stadium to get results, to coming back and inflicting the biggest defeat in their European history on your illustrious hosts, that’s Real Madrid and that’s just how fragile Liverpool are this season.

Last season the scousers were nigh-on untouchable and now their a team everyone knows they can get a result against. Oh how the mighty have fallen and oh how badly they need a refresh across many areas.

This was gonna be there season, they were the team to beat, but not anymore, now they’re looking at the score in shock and disbelief.