Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after the Champions League quarterfinals

Should the wingers have been better?

Real Madrid defended brilliantly in the second half against Liverpool, but they struggled to craft chances. That wasn’t through a lack of effort on the part of main creative influence Karim Benzema, who looked sharp out there and regularly dropped deep to collect the ball and look for a killer pass.

The problem is that the wingers were having issues. Vinicius Junior did a good job of getting open at times, but he was inconsistent and lacking in end product. He wasn’t nearly as dominant as he was in the first leg, though he wasn’t poor either.

Marco Asensio, meanwhile, was a serious disappointment. He offered nothing and held the team back with his poor positioning. It was a performance reminiscent of what we saw earlier in the season from the 25-year-old. But it came after a string of good performances in which Asensio scored four goals in four straight matches.

Both players could have been better offensively, but it is true that they pulled their weight in terms of defensive work. We’ve come to expect that from industrious Vinicius. Asensio had been criticized for his defensive work earlier this season, but he was consistently in the battles, offering help for his right back.

That said, Real should have done better on counterattacks, and I think the quiet performances from Vinicius and Asensio held Los Blancos back from being at their best in the second leg. It ended up being fine due to the defending, but they’ll want to rebound in the coming matches.