He Liverpool He went from heaven to hell in less than a week. From thrashing Manchester United at Anfield with a display from most of their players to losing by the slightest difference against Bournemouth, one of the worst teams in the Premier League. And all this before visiting the Santiago Bernabéu for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
He real MadridIn addition to having a great advantage from their victory in the first leg, they arrive with better feelings than the English team and the feeling is that they are practically in the Quarterfinals of the highest club competition at European level.
Virgil Van Dijk, from the best in the world to another “central back”
Liverpool arrives with many doubts for the midweek game and one of its main weaknesses is the current level of Virgil Van Dijk. The Dutch central defender is far from his best version, in which he became by far the best central defender in the world.
Van Dijk is at a very weak level and this has affected his team at a general level. His presence was the main determining factor for the rivals and made it easier for his team to press easily in the opposite field. If his level is low, Liverpool has recently experienced a general downturn from the rest.
One of the biggest mistakes this weekend came in Bournemouth’s winning goal. Van Dijk came out of his zone and left the finishing zone free, where Philip Billing ended up appearing to score. He left his area and never conditioned his rival not to attend comfortably. An action that he used to solve very easily.
Liverpool will stand at the Santiago Bernabéu with the same doubts as previous weeks, despite thrashing their eternal rival on the way to the Premier League. And one of its main bulwarks transmits the same sensations as the team at a general level.