UCL QF 2020/21 | Real Madrid Vs Liverpool

Zagadka wrote:^^ It's the fans man.

People really underestimate how much lack of fans impacts intensity. That natural pressure, the natural energy, the natural being on your toes.

No sport is suffering as much as footy when it comes to lack of fans, and I genuinely can't think of a top team that's suffering as much as Liverpool. Hell, even as a viewer I can't get fully emotionally invested without the fans and the passion.

anyways, much deserved win for Real. We were absolutely garbage in first half, probably 3-0 would have been a fairer result.

Mane has become Sean Wright Phillips lately and was easily our worst player today alongside Keita (what a stupid mistake starting him).

Usually, I'd be very optimistic of turning over a 3-1 away loss in Europe, but with no fans I'd give us 10% chance of overturning the tie. Can't see us keeping a cleansheet , and can't see us scoring 4.

but stranger things have happened.

Possible explanation. That coupled with burnout after having played at that level of intensity over a couple of seasons.

farfan wrote:I expect Farça fans to have issues with this draw as well.

Anything short of Madrid drawing the strongest possible opponent is a scandalous defiance of odds as far as they're concerned.

Actually probably the worst opponent. Even BVB put up more of a fight.

Myesyats wrote:

farfan wrote:I expect Farça fans to have issues with this draw as well.

Anything short of Madrid drawing the strongest possible opponent is a scandalous defiance of odds as far as they're concerned.

Actually probably the worst opponent. Even BVB put up more of a fight.

Who hasn't put up a fight against City in the quarters? No, scratch that, who hasn't beaten City in the quarters since Pep took over?

added to the excuse list for Liverpool fans:
- lack of fans

El Gunner wrote:added to the excuse list for Liverpool fans:
- lack of fans

Can't blame Trent for being a mediocre defender or Allison turning into Karius now can we. Or even Mane and "the best defensive forward in the world" Firmino.

In any case, Pool would give a better performance in the 2nd leg. Crowd or no crowd...

imagine claiming to be a football "fan" and deny the massive role that fans play.

football without fans is shit. it's like sex without passion.

It may be your thing, but it ain't mine.

the 4-0 vs. Barcelona doesn't happen without fans....6-1 vs. PSG doesn't happen without fans ... all those late United goals under Fergie at OT doesn't happen without fans, and the list goes on.

Fans make this sport....else it's just 22 adults running around a ball. This pandemic has showed me why so many people don't take footy seriously.

I've personally learnt I like it for the atmosphere and the passion, and less so for the "tactical" football.

How are you complaining about fans during an away match? Fans at Anfield would be a better argument but they werent even at home. Fans could've been worse for Liverpool in this case

i get the fans thing, but it works both ways. you dont think the other team would also like fans available? and as mentioned, the game was in madrid. if one side had fans and another didnt, then you got me. but both teams dont, so its all about adjustments. dont get me wrong, there's a general argument to be made with respect to fans; sometimes it can even be intimidating for a home side that's out of form....but in this case, no argument whatsoever .....everyone playing with the same yardstick

We got robbed of a penalty yesterday. That was so blatant, don't understand why VAR never intervened

That Liverpool CB paring just seem terrible. U would think they are compable on getting better reinforcements. Really huge difference it makes. TAA probably suffering since he didnt used to have to defend so much when VD would mope up everything

As everyone said, a weakened Real side outplaying Liverpool... and Vini has shown again he can deliver in the big matches, and underappreciated.

We targeted TAA 3 seasons ago and we did the same yesterday

Outclassed at every aspect since the whistle blew. We never really turned up smh. Why did he start Keita who has played 10 mins in the last 3 months over Thiago FFS

No chance without fans in the second leg but we are second leg FC

Modric and Kroos are fucking unbelievable.

Zagadka wrote:imagine claiming to be a football "fan" and deny the massive role that fans play.

football without fans is shit. it's like sex without passion.

It may be your thing, but it ain't mine.

the 4-0 vs. Barcelona doesn't happen without fans....6-1 vs. PSG doesn't happen without fans ... all those late United goals under Fergie at OT doesn't happen without fans, and the list goes on.

Fans make this sport....else it's just 22 adults running around a ball. This pandemic has showed me why so many people don't take footy seriously.

I've personally learnt I like it for the atmosphere and the passion, and less so for the "tactical" football.

I agree completely. I’ve said same before and got shot down with the same arguments, that it is the same for both teams!

I feel most of these guys in GL haven’t spent much time in stadiums! You would think that seeing ‘all’ teams drop in form would be recognized. You are right, without live fans, it’s just players running around a ball. The fans presence bring on an atmosphere that increases intensity and urgency. It works for both teams. It should be obvious that the level of play, which I say is due to lack of intensity, is drastically below prior years.

Modric is aging like fine wine here.

This was really poor from Klopp I get the injuries and all, but the whole set up and approach to this game has been bad. Mane has really fell off a cliff.

Criminal. How do you give Kroos that much time on the ball?

The Pool press is finished. Not just counter pressing, but even organised pressing has gone to near zero. Without that pressure, you arent turning teams over and attacking quickly. You have to break organised numbers and if Trent playing direct switches and channel passes is you primary route, your struggling.

Mane is a big concern. He looks terrible and very slow. He was so sharp, fast and strong just a season ago..now, he is getting put on the ground and loses balls trying to the turn.

Pool have to win 2 nil? No chance of that.

@futbol_bill, nobody is saying the presence of fans doesnt have an impact. especially for us when we had a bit of a mid season crisis in the winter, i think the fact there were no fans kind of helped us settle our nerves....but after teams have played over 30 football games in empty stadiums since covid, placing poor run of form down to no fans isnt a solid excuse. teams have been playing without fans for months now, probably up to a year. a huge part of sports is about making adjustments

if that's a valid reason or consensus, every game should end in a nil nil draw....but when one team wins or dominates and another doesn't, why is the lack of fans not affecting the winning team? and if its cos teams are different, why cant the losing team make adjustments....is it the fans or are they just playing badly or suffering from poor form? i'd say its the latter

Konate and the return of van Dijk will transform Liverpool's defense. Though I could see van Dijk looking shaky next season as it usually takes a season for a player to recover his form after an ACL injury.

That will go a long way in improving their fortunes. Then I think it's about freshening up their offense. Change the profiles in the front 3 to add more variety to your attack.   Having a midfielder who is comfortable operating in between the lines rather than behind the ball can also help them out.

I don't think it's doom and gloom over there. They just need some smart signings to freshen up the squad.

titosantill wrote:@futbol_bill, nobody is saying the presence of fans doesnt have an impact. especially for us when we had a bit of a mid season crisis in the winter, i think the fact there were no fans kind of helped us settle our nerves....but after teams have played over 30 football games in empty stadiums since covid, placing poor run of form down to no fans isnt a solid excuse. teams have been playing without fans for months now, probably up to a year. a huge part of sports is about making adjustments

if that's a valid reason or consensus, every game should end in a nil nil draw....but when one team wins or dominates and another doesn't, why is the lack of fans not affecting the winning team? and if its cos teams are different, why cant the losing team make adjustments....is it the fans or are they just playing badly or suffering from poor form? i'd say its the latter

Can you name one team that is playing at or above form of 2018/19 season? IMO, you are severely underestimating the impact of fans in stadium. I would compare these covid games to watching kids play in front of their parents. Everyone’s form is consistently off. Note this also applies to other sports as well.

and how much of teams not playing to that 2018/19 level has to do with players getting older, injuries etc...? we in 2021, that's 3 years, that's a long time in the life of an athlete for any decline, especially the likes of those who have been playing for ten plus years

i mean how about teams like west ham, leicester, betis who are punching above their weight? why are they not complaining? or does empty stadiums only affect big teams that arent topping their league? i think its a bit of an injustice to the athlete to attribute poor run of form to an empty stadium....when comparing eras we always say great players can play in any era and any style and any where

there's an impact dont get me wrong....but that's not why pool lost, and its not why some teams or players are off form. the biggest impact imo is to the viewer and finances; major impact on finances.

there's an impact on players, but when they're on the pitch 15 minutes in the game they're not going "damn there are no fans, the place is so quiet, i dont know what next to do with the ball"....they've been playing empty stadiums for about a year now

futbol_bill wrote:

titosantill wrote:@futbol_bill, nobody is saying the presence of fans doesnt have an impact. especially for us when we had a bit of a mid season crisis in the winter, i think the fact there were no fans kind of helped us settle our nerves....but after teams have played over 30 football games in empty stadiums since covid, placing poor run of form down to no fans isnt a solid excuse. teams have been playing without fans for months now, probably up to a year. a huge part of sports is about making adjustments

if that's a valid reason or consensus, every game should end in a nil nil draw....but when one team wins or dominates and another doesn't, why is the lack of fans not affecting the winning team? and if its cos teams are different, why cant the losing team make adjustments....is it the fans or are they just playing badly or suffering from poor form? i'd say its the latter

Can you name one team that is playing at or above form of 2018/19 season? IMO, you are severely underestimating the impact of fans in stadium. I would compare these covid games to watching kids play in front of their parents. Everyone’s form is consistently off. Note this also applies to other sports as well.

yea but it's a commonality amongst all teams during these times.... so what's the point???

It is a traverser that kroos is having his best season ever when entire Madrid team is absolutely mediocre. I guess since we got entire Modric prime with prime madrid, this one god is not allowing to compensate for that.

Liverpool tried a high line with such a half added front line press. Their front three tried to shield kroos and modric while leaving Vasquez and Mendy free . It made it easy for our CBs under pressure to play it wide. Also one switch to the wing and. Liverpool fullbacks had 2 Vs 1 for short period of time.

Kroos dropped deep and modric slightly ahead with casemiro further forward is a tactic which failed against city last year but worked against pool yesterday.

Its not the end of the cycle but the injuries plus rotations along with fatigue incurred has taken its toll on the team. Losses do not hurt anywhere near as much when one has basically given up on a team mid-way in the season. Losses also hurt a lot less when fans are not around for it, to back up Sepi's point.

Unless Klopp switches back to the midfielder press and wide pressure that made his LFC what it is, second leg will not even be close. Very disappointing.

Lucas out for the season. Odriozola against Mane and co

We are literally stripped to the bare bones in defence

Madrid fans already putting excuses up there ... just imagine fans being there at Anfield for the game.

Hala, no need to worry. Mane has scored 3 goals in last 18 games as I had read somewhere. I hope he does not start and we stick to Jota-Firmino-Salah.

halamadrid2 wrote:Lucas out for the season. Odriozola against Mane and co

We are literally stripped to the bare bones in defense

Oh shut-up, we have Philips & Kabak against Benzema.