Real Madrid: 3 MOTM candidates to watch at Liverpool in the second leg

Real Madrid head into Anfield with a 3-1 advantage over Liverpool in the tie after a phenomenal first leg at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. Vinicius Junior earned the Champions League Player of the Week by scoring two goals in what many are calling the best performance of the young winger’s promising career.

Liverpool will not go down without a fight in their own home stadium, especially since the Champions League is their last hope at getting something out of this nightmare season. But, as we saw this weekend in their triumph over Barcelona, Real Madrid know how to bring a fight, too.

Here are three players who could win Man of the Match honors for Los Blancos and help Zinedine Zidane advance to yet another Champions League semifinal.

CF Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema did not score or assist in the first leg at home, but he did play well as a creative force for the Real Madrid attack. This weekend, Benzema scored one of the best goals of the 2020-2021 La Liga campaign with a backheel to open the scoring in El Clasico. And before both of these big games, Benz scored seven goals in seven games.

Liverpool will probably focus a lot more attention on Vinicius in the second leg after he ripped them apart with his well-timed runs off the ball. That could mean more space for Benzema in the middle of the pitch to drop off, collect the ball, and run at Liverpool’s defense. Over the past month, we have seen a great connection developing between Vini and Benz, so if Vini does score again, don’t be surprised if the Frenchman is the provider of the assist.

CM Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos was the official Man of the Match this weekend in El Clasico, and he was untouchable last week against Liverpool, creating the first two goals with long ball over the top. It would make sense, then, for Kroos to clean house for a third straight week and have the Liverpool midfield and defense on strings once more.

Per WhoScored.com, Kroos has completed over 90 percent of his passes in his last five matches, with his lowest percentage actually coming against Liverpool because he attempted so many difficult, high-reward long passes. The Reds will tighten up in this regard, but Kroos should still be able to operate with precision in the middle of the park, switching play effectively and keeping the ball away from Liverpool. Kroos is probably the best midfielder in the world and as good of a bet as anyone to win Man of the Match.

GK Thibaut Courtois

Thibaut Courtois made some big stops against Barcelona to ensure Real Madrid would win this important match that could end up deciding the league table. The Belgian has been one of the best goalkeepers in Europe again this season, though we haven’t seen him drop jaws on the European stage lately as Kroos and Vinicius did last week.

Perhaps the second leg at Anfield will be Courtois’ time to shine with Liverpool in aggressive pursuit of goals. The Reds will take gambles, but they should also create a lot of shooting opportunities against a Real back line suffering from several injuries. It will be up to Courtois to make more big saves to prevent Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and the rest from scoring enough goals to shift the balance of the tie in the Premier League side’s direction.