Ever since the evening of May 26, 2018, Jurgen Klopp has wanted to get Real Madrid to a full Anfield. Losing the Champions League final in Kyiv to the now 14-time European champions hurt the Liverpool manager, and the quest to expunge the memories of that painful night almost five years ago continues.
The story of that game has been told frequently since: Mo Salah’s premature exit after underhand tactics by Sergio Ramos, Loris Karius being at fault for at least two of Madrid’s goals and a nagging sense that Liverpool were unable to play to their potential in a showpiece final.
That meeting between Liverpool and Madrid was the first of four that have come to pockmark Klopp’s reign on Merseyside. The two sides clashed in the quarter-finals in 2021 when the first leg, which Madrid won 3-1, was played at the Spanish club’s training ground and didn’t feel like a pivotal last-eight clash in Europe’s premier competition.
Then the return leg was played at an empty Anfield given the pandemic restrictions at the time — a goalless draw saw Madrid progress.
Most recently, the pair met in Paris last May in a European final most Liverpool supporters long to forget. Events off the pitch overshadowed the actual game with a recent report finding that Uefa bore ‘primary responsibility for failures which almost led to disaster’ as supporters were trapped in serious congestion and tear-gassed by police when attempting to make their way into the Stade de France. Madrid triumphed 1-0 thanks to Vinicius Junior’s second-half goal.
This storied duel between two teams, which dates back to the 1981 European Cup final, has gathered pace in recent years. But only now can Liverpool and Klopp welcome Madrid to a packed-out Anfield for the first time since 2009.
‘Revenge’ may be the word used to describe Liverpool’s objective before Tuesday’s round-of-16 first leg, but Klopp does not quite see it like that. The Liverpool manager wants his team to offer their visitors the best account of themselves. Something which they have not managed to do in the past four encounters.
Arriving in this fixture on the back of crucial successive Premier League wins over Everton and Newcastle United, Klopp admitted that his team face the reigning European champions at a good time and in better shape than they would have been in previous months. A return to action from injury for Virgil van Dijk, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota also signals that Liverpool are able to throw their mite at their visitors.
Klopp had not rewatched last season’s final until Sunday when he viewed it back by himself and found it torturous. “The thing I realised immediately was now I know why I didn’t watch it back — but I had to,” he said.
“It was proper torture because we played a good game and could have won and that’s the decisive word — could — but didn’t because they scored and we didn’t. That’s the decisive reason. I watched the game back, knowing exactly what we will do and we had to win this game. We didn’t. The one reason was we didn’t score and we conceded but apart from that we should have won the game.
“What held us back a little was it was a final. In the little moments we were not adventurous enough, we were super-protected because of the possible counter-attack threat. Analysing it is super-easy. It was a little bit of feeling that we needed an extra spark and could have made it.”
Full Anfield could provide Liverpool's missing spark
The expectation is that a lively Anfield will play its part as Liverpool seek to end their six-match winless run against Madrid. That specific ingredient was missing when Madrid came to Liverpool in 2021. That Liverpool’s only chance of a trophy this term rests with the Champions League means the tie takes on even more significance for Klopp’s men.
By and large, this has been a tough season for Liverpool. A transition year in which inconsistency and injuries have made for a slog of a campaign, but the chance of a positive finish remains. They are seven points off the top four but have games in hand, however, their most likely route back into this competition could be winning it this term.
No doubt Klopp will feel that a lead will have to be taken to the Bernabeu in three weeks for the second leg to keep alive the possibility of progression.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team currently sit behind leaders Barcelona in the La Liga standings and have lost four games across their league and European campaign so far. However, their nouse — especially in this competition — is legendary. “We saw [in Paris] how experienced Madrid is and how little they are fussed by the fact the other team has chances,” Klopp added. “Generally I don’t think you can make this team panic.”
“They don’t lose confidence in one second, they know ‘our chance will come’ and they defend with legs. That’s what you can learn from them, definitely. They are absolutely world class, it is a well set up team and that’s why it is so difficult but it doesn’t mean it is not possible.”
Liverpool hope to have Darwin Nunez available after he injured his shoulder on Saturday whereas Madrid striker Karim Benzema is expected to return to the starting lineup after sitting out the 2-0 win over Osasuna. Although, midfield duo Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni haven’t travelled with the squad to Merseyside.
Still, Ancelotti’s team will prove the ultimate test of Liverpool’s recent recovery. “Some of their players have won [the Champions League] five times and probably think they own the competition — and quite rightly,” Klopp said, “but that doesn’t mean we won’t give it a try.”