Toni Kroos goes into specific details analysing how Real Madrid’s tactics broke down Liverpool
Last Updated: April 7, 2021 3:11 pm
Real Madrid dominate Liverpool
Liverpool were in Spain on Tuesday evening for the first of two Champions League quarter-final clashes with Real Madrid.
The pair had not faced off since that 2018 final which saw Madrid come away with a 3-1 win.
And when all was said and done at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Tuesday, Real once again came away with yet another 3-1 win.
A Vinicius Jr. brace and a Marcos Asensio strike means that Mohamad Salah’s effort, whilst an away goal, it unlikely to do much for the Reds in the return leg.
Kroos breaks down Madrid’s tactical approach vs Liverpool
Barring a decent spell shortly after halftime, Liverpool were completely outclassed.
There midfield was largely non-existent, with Jurgen Klopp actually taking off Naby Keita before half-time.
Their defence was also pretty woeful, especially Trent Alexander-Arnold who gave the ball away countless times and was dominated by Vinicius and Ferland Mendy.
Now, speaking post-match, Toni Kroos has gone into detail about how Madrid’s tactics got the better of Liverpool:
“Lot of things went well in the first half. I think we came out very motivated and even concentrated in our game plan and it went well, we tried to attack them very early because we knew the that they also have to change some players because they have some injured players at the back. So, maybe we thought that’s going to be a good chance to win the ball very early and it went well.
“And of course when we have the ball, our idea was to keep the ball, keep the possession and play forward. And I think all of this went well especially when we lost the ball, we got the back ball very fast, I think this was one key for this for this great first half.”
Kross was then pressed on whether it was a deliberate tactic to target Liverpool’s defence, to which he stated:
“Yeah, I mean it’s normal, I think that you try to figure out of the rival you know where some points where you can attack them. But it’s not only the point because they had to change some defenders but also that they come not too easily to their front because of all of us now what quality they have and you know in the front so one idea of course was to attack the defenders so that they cannot go easily to the front where they have most of their qualities.”
“The idea was to attack their defenders so they cannot move up quickly” Real Madrid midfield Maestro Toni Kroos breaks down the tactical plan to beat Liverpool@AndyMitten @ToniKroos @realmadriden @LFC #RMALIV | #UCL pic.twitter.com/bkQHsRHT8K
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) April 7, 2021
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This article was edited by Robert Fosterman.
Liverpool betting odds, next game:
Leeds vs Liverpool odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Leeds vs Liverpool Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Leeds | 6/1 | 17/2 |
| Liverpool | 2/1 | 12/5 |
| Draw | 4/1 | 16/1 |
| Leeds vs Liverpool Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mohamed Salah | 13/10 | 13/10 | 8/13 |
| Diogo Jota | 2/1 | 2/1 | 20/21 |
| Patrick Bamford | 12/5 | 12/5 | 8/5 |
| Sadio Mane | 12/5 | 12/5 | 11/10 |
| Roberto Firmino | 3/1 | 3/1 | 6/4 |
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 32 | 44 | 74 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 31 | 27 | 63 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 31 | 18 | 56 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 31 | 12 | 55 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 31 | 19 | 54 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 31 | 17 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 30 | 3 | 48 |
| 9 | Arsenal FC | 31 | 8 | 45 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 31 | -19 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 31 | -17 | 36 |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 31 | -5 | 33 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 31 | -17 | 33 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 31 | -19 | 32 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 31 | -31 | 24 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 31 | -38 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 9 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Holgate, Mason | Everton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
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|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
