Liverpool outclass Actual Madrid as Slot’s construction begins to take form
Liverpool’s 1–0 win over Actual Madrid at Anfield felt like greater than a slim Champions League victory. It was an evening when construction, goal and depth lastly merged — the clearest signal but that Arne Slot’s strategies are starting to take maintain. On Anfield Index’s post-match present, Trev Downey, Dave Hendrick and Hari Sethi mirrored on a efficiency that mixed management with conviction, and even perhaps hinted at one thing sustainable.
Commercial
Wirtz, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai outline a balanced midfield
Dave Hendrick was the primary to border the night’s narrative. “That’s our greatest efficiency since Spurs again in April,” he mentioned. “We lastly appeared like an actual soccer group once more.”
His reasoning was clear: stability. With Florian Wirtz ranging from the left and drifting inside, Liverpool discovered attacking rhythm with out dropping defensive form. Dominik Szoboszlai’s dynamism and Alexis Mac Allister’s authority on the base created a midfield that would press, shield and play in equal measure.
“When Mac Allister performs nicely, we play nicely,” Hendrick added. “He may even be an important participant we’ve got proper now. When he’s on his sport, we seem like an organised group of footballers, not like lads picked up within the park.”
Commercial
Trev Downey famous how that chemistry allowed Liverpool to attach their strains for the primary time in weeks. Szoboszlai’s distribution and power gave the facet a heartbeat, whereas Wirtz’s positional intelligence stretched Actual Madrid’s press. As Hari Sethi put it: “It was the happiest I’ve been watching Liverpool for a really very long time. You may really see a construction that works.”
Picture: IMAGO
Full-backs rediscover their chew as Bradley shines
A lot of Liverpool’s aggression got here from the flanks. Hendrick known as Conor Bradley’s show “his finest since that evening in opposition to Chelsea,” whereas Sethi praised the younger defender’s management in opposition to Vinícius Jr. “We’ve talked about him needing to be disciplined,” Sethi mentioned. “Tonight he was simply that — robust within the sort out, courageous on the ball, and significantly better in possession.”
Commercial
On the other facet, Andy Robertson rolled again the years with a commanding efficiency that set the tone for the again line. “That’s Robbo’s finest efficiency in perhaps three years,” Hendrick noticed. “He appeared just like the participant who used to provide you eight out of ten each week.”
Behind them, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté offered a basis that allowed the remainder of the group to specific themselves. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili earned additional plaudits, producing a relaxed, decisive show that had Hendrick predicting a brilliant future: “In order for you the blueprint for what he can grow to be, simply take a look at Courtois. The uncooked supplies are all there.”
Mac Allister strikes as Liverpool’s superiority reveals
For all Liverpool’s dominance, they wanted a set-piece to translate it into reward. On 59 minutes, Szoboszlai’s curling free-kick was met by a thunderous Mac Allister header that even Thibaut Courtois couldn’t cease.
Commercial
“It’s unsaveable,” Hendrick mentioned. “It’s so near Courtois’s head that he’d have had a greater probability if he’d simply taken it within the face. However that’s Mac — pure conviction, pure timing.”
Sethi noticed the aim as an indication that Liverpool’s key figures have been lastly in sync. “It’s the very best we’ve seen Mac Allister look this season,” he mentioned. “He’s turned the nook, and when he does that, the group follows.”
Courtois’s brilliance prevented a extra comfy scoreline, however Liverpool’s management was absolute. They completed with almost triple Actual Madrid’s pictures and double their anticipated objectives. Downey identified that even amid VAR chaos — together with a baffling non-call on Aurélien Tchouaméni’s clear handball — the facet stayed composed. “The sense of injustice solely appeared to focus them,” he mentioned. “You may really feel the gang feeding off it.”
Crowd unity and Slot’s rising imprint
The Anfield environment had a defiant edge. When former Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold entered for Madrid, the boos have been loud, however the subsequent rendition of “Liverpool” and “Steven Gerrard” chants shortly reaffirmed the place the main focus lay. “That response summed it up,” Sethi famous. “The group was united, the group was united — all the things felt coherent once more.”
Commercial
Hendrick, reflecting on Arne Slot’s tactical evolution, urged the Dutchman could have discovered his method virtually by chance. “It hasn’t labored with Wirtz as a quantity ten,” he mentioned. “However on the left, with final season’s midfield behind him, it clicks. You don’t mess with one thing that lastly works.”
Downey echoed that sentiment. “It’s superb to suppose this group nonetheless has one other gear,” he mentioned. “You possibly can sense perception returning — not blind religion, however one thing constructed on substance.”
Liverpool’s 1–0 win over Actual Madrid received’t erase the season’s earlier frustrations, however it may function the muse for all the things that follows. Hendrick summed it up neatly: “If Mac Allister retains enjoying like this, that title won’t be gone simply but.”