3 reasons why Real Madrid will defeat Liverpool on Tuesday
Real Madrid and Liverpool know each other as fierce opponents, and for most of the time now, the Royal Whites have had their side of the lever heavier. The last time they met, it was the 2018 Champions League Final and Real Madrid won 3-1, thanks to Gareth Bale’s magnificent performance after coming on from the bench. Here are three reasons why history is more likely to repeat itself and see Real Madrid advance into the semifinals.
1. Real Madrid’s forwards are in great form
Karim Benzema was out of play for a short spell due to an injury he picked up during training. However, the Frenchman is back and is in inspired form. He now has nine goals in seven matches. He is, literally, scoring every single time he is on the pitch for Madrid. Most importantly, he returned from absence in El Derbi and since then has featured in five matches scoring seven times in all competitions, per WhoScored.com.
Not just him, Marco Asensio is another welcome return to form. The Spaniard who was among the talks for his poor run this season proved everyone what he is made of in his last three outings. He came on from the bench against Atalanta to score with his first touch of the match in a 3-1 victory for Los Blancos. He did the same in their match against Celta Vigo in the league in another 3-1 victory.
His scoring did as expected, it boosted his confidence. He started in the last game against Eibar and he looked like his vintage best. Asensio was doing much more than just scoring from the right positions at the right times. His pressing game was much better and he meant real intent whenever on the ball. A free-kick from a crossing position was taken directly that nearly found the top corner as it came off against the upright.
He also had a brilliant attempt on goal with a first-time shot from outside the box, curled perfectly on target. Eibar’s keeper Marko Dmitrovic was stretched to make a save, if not the ball was going in, placed perfectly just under the bar. His exquisite back-heel flick was disallowed to an offside call and it was just a matter of a second’s fraction. He finally scored with a brilliant Casemiro assist in the 41st minute.
Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes looked in good touch too. Vinicius made the second goal possible for Madrid with a good cross from the left, headed home by King Karim. Overall, the forwards are in great touch and against a young Liverpool defense, they can mean business on Tuesday. Their roles would be particularly important given their counterparts would include the likes of Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, and Sadio Mane.