Liverpool were brilliant at times in their 5-2 Champions League semi-final first leg victory over Roma. The men from the Italian capital were run ragged for large parts of the game, but in the final ten minutes, with Liverpool 5-0 up, the Reds suffered a minor implosion. Roma hit back with two, potentially crucial, away goals to give them a glimmer of hope.
Roma have already proven that they are capable of overturning huge deficits, having won 3-0 in their second leg quarter final tie to progress against newly-crowned Spanish champions Barcelona. It is the exact same story this time, and if Roma win 3-0 or 4-1 against Liverpool next week, the Reds’ hopes of a sixth European title will crash and burn.
With home advantage comes a duty to defend efficiently in the late stages, which Liverpool utterly failed to do. Regardless, defence is less of an issue in away legs, and Liverpool have no choice but to go for the jugular from the off. Scoring first at the Stadio Olimpico will give Jurgen Klopp’s men a resounding psychological boost, pressurising Roma to come forward, and allow Liverpool to flaunt their devastating counter-attacking skills.
On the night itself, Edin Dzeko will again be a major threat. His near-post finish for Roma’s first goal at Anfield demonstrated his predatory abilities, and with aerial balls proving to be Liverpool’s weakness time and again in the Premier League, a game plan built on marking him out of the game is of primary importance. There is also a likely final against Real Madrid to consider, if Liverpool are to avoid ultimate heartbreak.
Klopp will undoubtedly have studied footage of Barcelona’s second leg collapse, to ensure that Liverpool do not make the same mistakes as the Spanish champions. Composure is also crucial to success, and if Liverpool do bow out on away goals, James Milner will feel haunted for the rest of his life. Just three minutes after Dzeko’s strike, there was an air of panic as Milner was deemed to have handled the ball in the area.
Composure is, of course an element that a player must be born with, or develop naturally. It is near-impossible to ingrain it into a professional footballer during training sessions, least of all within a grizzled veteran like James Milner. While his presence at left-back is a galvanising one within the team, Liverpool can prevent any further defensive mishaps by opting for a less fluid setup in central defence. In what many pundits would see as a mere ‘back to basics’ approach, Klopp needs to instruct his central pairing in the backline close down rather than anticipate mistakes, and maraud in a strategy that favours risk.
Thus far, the good outcomes from a flexible defensive setup have outweighed the bad – as evidenced by Liverpool’s scintillating performances throughout 2017/18. Yet, again, all it takes is one particularly bad moment from a flexible defensive setup in a European tie to see it all unravel. The markets on SportingIndex.com are a further reflection of just how unfancied Liverpool remain (compared to Real Madrid) in terms of actually winning the cup, and much of this is down to set pieces, which also remain an issue for Klopp’s men. Much of this is down to an existing debate as to which of Liverpool’s goalkeepers should start consistently.
Neither of Simon Mignolet or Loris Karius have enjoyed long runs of clean sheets, and one needs only to look at the great Liverpool sides of yore to note that success stems from a constant, reliable presence between the sticks. Jerzy Dudek and Bruce Grobbelaar are both prominent names in that regard. Grobbelaar is, of course, particularly well remembered for his heart-stopping moments, but with the Zimbabwean boasting untold agility and game-reading ability, he serves as a prime example of just how important a defence with great mutual familiarity is to a cohesive attack.
Simply put, it is time for Klopp to decide whether to stick with Karius and sell Mignolet, or just break the bank for a talent like Manuel Neuer. In the backline, Virgil Van Dijk has certainly added an extra degree of toughness to Liverpool’s defence, but he needs a consistent on-field neighbour more than anyone else.
Ultimately, this semi final should be Liverpool’s to negotiate, but Real Madrid are a class apart, as demonstrated by Zinedine Zidane’s tactical demolition of Bayern Munich on Wednesday night. Nonetheless, Real Madrid have proven vulnerable to counter attacks all season. Thus, in sorting out the defence once and for all, Klopp can give his men more than a fighting chance of going all the way.
