Los Blancos set out to finish the job at Anfield
In need of another famous Champions League fightback, Liverpool cannot rely on a wave of passion, colour and noise from the stands at Anfield to inspire a comeback from 3-1 down against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
The Los Blancos produced a dominant display against Liverpool in the first leg and capped off a glorious week with a 2-1 win over bitter rivals Barcelona in El Clasico. Los Blancos have been in great form and are favourites to make it to the semi-finals over Liverpool, whose season is starting to get increasingly forgettable.
Real's midfielders were on top of their game last week and they ran the show with great authority. Their frontline has also joined the party in recent weeks and Vinicius Jr. bagged a brace while Marco Asensio got on the scoresheet as well.
If the English champions are to reach the semi-finals for the third time in four years, they will instead need their manager Jurgen Klopp to conjure the motivation and tactical masterplan to once again eliminate one of Spanish football's giants.
Klopp has earned near God-like status on Merseyside for delivering a sixth European Cup and a first league title for 30 years to Liverpool.But the charismatic German has been unable to halt the Reds' fall from grace this season. With seven games to play in the Premier League, it is already mathematically impossible for Liverpool to retain their title as they lie 22 points adrift of Manchester City in fifth.
Hopes the Champions League could prove the salvation of a disappointing season were also dashed as Real ran riot in the first 45 minutes in Madrid last week to open up a commanding first-leg lead.
Liverpool's deficit is not as steep as when Barcelona visited two years ago in the semi-finals in what turned out to be arguably the greatest of all the memorable European nights at Anfield.
Depleted by injuries, Klopp's men still rolled over Barca's stellar cast of star names 4-0 on their way to winning the trophy.
Meanwhile, Manchester City will be aiming to book their spot in the semi-finals when they take on Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their quarter-final bout.
On a night where Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland was expected to show City what could be theirs if they play their cards right, the Norway international was unable to make the Etihad net ripple, although he must have thought that his assist for Marco Reus's 84th minute equaliser would be a game-defining moment last week.
As for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola's side suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Leeds United at the weekend. Guardiola will be hoping his side can move past that loss quickly and pick up where they left off against Dortmund.
City will wrap up the Premier League title in the coming weeks but this remains the competition they all want to win.
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