Real Madrid 1 Liverpool 0Karim Benzema 27
By the end, at least Brendan Rodgers could make a credible argument that he could have started with his best men and there was still no guarantee they would have done any better. The team he chose had resembled a White Flag XI and although Real Madrid restricted themselves to Karim Benzema’s first-half winner, Liverpool’s fans could probably have been forgiven for thinking it would be a lot worse when they saw the side that the manager had put out.
There was some sense, perhaps, in keeping back a couple of players for Saturday’s game against Chelsea. Yet this strayed dangerously close to being a surrender. What a strange set of events that Liverpool made it back into the Champions League and removed their best players from the showpiece game because they were already thinking ahead to next season’s competition. Yet this was the first time in 13 Champions League games at the Bernabéu that Madrid have managed only one goal, even though Liverpool did not have a single shot until 10 minutes into the second half.
In total, Rodgers had made eight changes, with Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Glen Johnson, Mario Balotelli and Philippe Coutinho on the bench. Dejan Lovren was given the night off and Kolo Touré was brought in for only his second Champions League start in five and a half years. Rodgers will be accused of lacking courage and not having enough trust in his strongest XI. In another way, what he did here was exceedingly brave when Madrid were at full strength and Cristiano Ronaldo was gunning for Raúl ’s record as the Champions League’s all-time record scorer.
In the circumstances it was a surprise, perhaps, that Madrid did not inflict more damage, and certainly that they took their time in making it clear to Liverpool that the Bernabéu is not the sort of place where opposition teams get away with fielding the understudies.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men pinned them back for long spells of the first half and Liverpool might have been in for a messy evening if the goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet, had let in one of the early attempts from James Rodríguez and Ronaldo. Mignolet had a busy and sometimes outstanding night. Yet Madrid also gave the impression they were holding something back and Liverpool, in flashes, did at least show they were not here merely to spend the entire night in their own penalty area.
Emre Can certainly gave the impression that he wanted to show he could flourish at this level. Alberto Moreno also stood out and Liverpool were visibly growing in confidence when they reached the midway point of the opening half without any score. Fabio Borini will have enjoyed his nutmeg on Luca Modric.
Lazar Markovic went on one run that acted as a warning to Madrid, and who would have thought at the start of the night that Touré would dribble past Benzema and Rodríguez during one break-out from the back four?
Yet there was something devastating about the way Madrid decided they had had enough impertinence, quickened their own pace and firmly put Liverpool in their place with the opening goal. A clever exchange of passes between Ronaldo and Isco opened up the visiting defence. Marcelo was free, overlapping on the left, and the full-back’s cross was measured perfectly for Benzema to turn the ball in at the far post.
Ronaldo was desperate for his record and there was the sense sometimes that he was maybe placing too much importance on it, judging by the number of times he took aim from the kind of positions that seemed implausible even for him. He was not at his most formidable, in keeping with the entire Madrid team, but it was still not easy to keep count of the number of times it needed Mignolet’s goalkeeping or a last-ditch challenge to keep him out.
Iker Casillas, in stark contrast, might have been grateful for the chance to keep warm when Moreno, from 25 yards, put in Liverpool’s first shot of any description.
By that stage, the Liverpool fans in the two most vertiginous stands had started to chant Gerrard’s name as if they wanted him out on the pitch. Yet the team were not doing too badly without him. A couple of minutes after Moreno’s effort, Adam Lallana had another go from a similar position and the ball went only a yard or so wide. Shortly afterwards, Sergio Ramos was penalised for a challenge on Can and Borini’s deflected off the wall to go for a corner. For the first time, Liverpool had some real momentum and in those moments Madrid’s defence did not look completely impenetrable. The away end sensed something remarkable might be on the cards. “Attack, attack, attack,” they implored.
When Gerrard did come on, after 69 minutes, there was a wonderful show of appreciation from the Bernabéu crowd. Sterling came on, too, but it was another substitute, Gareth Bale, who came closest to adding another goal, with a shot that came back off the crossbar.
