"The hammer blow" - John Barnes points out the moment that changed the game for Liverpool against Real Madrid
Liverpool great John Barnes has pinpointed the moment that turned the first leg of the Real Madrid vs Liverpool UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 tie the visitors' way.
Real Madrid ran out 5-2 victors in the match held on February 21, making a comeback from two goals down. Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah gave the Reds an early two-goal lead, with the latter's strike coming as a result of a glaring error from Thibaut Courtois.
Los Blancos got back into the match through twin strikes from Vinicius, the second of which came from an Alisson mistake. The Liverpool goalkeeper shot straight at his compatriot and the ball ricocheted off him into the goal.
Barnes believes it was Alisson's error that severely dented the home side's confidence at Anfield. But he doesn't think the Brazilian shot-stopper's mistake was as bad as Courtois'.
“At 2-1 we were still dominating the game. I think the hammer blow was the equalizer, which was a mistake by Allison but I don’t think it was as bad a mistake as Courtois’.
“Allison looked to clear and Vinicius Junior turned his back, it hit him and goes in. That’s just bad luck but I think it knocked the stuffing out of Liverpool. Third goal just after half time was the real killer blow,” Barnes told Bonus Code Bets.
Joe Gomez as at fault for at least 3 goals, but the second isn’t on him.
How is Alisson choosing that pass instead of the open man in VVD? https://t.co/7RukIQLo4g
Alisson was also partly at mistake for Karim Benzema's second and Real Madrid's fifth goal.
Alisson’s game by numbers vs. Real Madrid:
0/1 ground duels won
1 high claim
1 save
1 time dribbles past
1 error leading to goal
5 goals conceded
6 shots faced
One to forget. 👀 https://t.co/BOyNlBrr3c
"2-0 gave Liverpool overconfidence" - John Barnes on Liverpool's defeat vs Real Madrid
Barnes believes the 2-0 lead gave Liverpool a false sense of security, which made them overconfident and gave Los Blancos a way back into the match.
Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid side made several comebacks last season in their title-winning run in the Champions League and they brought out a similar performance at Anfield, scoring five in return.
Eder Miliato gave them the lead soon after the restart before Benzema struck twice to ensure Madrid took home a healthy three-goal lead for the second leg.
“When we went 2-0 up I feel we got lulled into a false sense of security because of how poor Real Madrid were in the first 20 minutes. Liverpool completely dominated them and then became a bit complacent.
“2-0 gave Liverpool overconfidence where they played like they wanted to score more rather than play as if it’s 0-0 and keep things tight,” Barnes added.
The second leg is scheduled to be played on March 15.