Three talking points ahead of Liverpool vs Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

Real Madrid are currently one of the most in-form teams in Europe and appear to have it in them to breeze past any side in the top-five leagues.

There are indeed areas where they must improve, but having beaten Juventus and Barcelona just in recent weeks, their confidence is at a high and Xabi Alonso will be proud of the manner in which his team is growing.

Tomorrow night, they lock horns with Liverpool at Anfield and it is clear that the whole footballing world will have their eyes on the game. The Reds, however, have won just two of their last eight games and lost the rest – a testament to their poor form.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Liverpool vs Real Madrid.

A match with a rich history

Real Madrid and Liverpool faced off twice between 2010 and 2017 with their paths only crossing in the Group stage of the UEFA Champions League in 2014 during that duration.

Since then, however, the two elite European sides have shared a special rivalry in the competition, and while Los Blancos can boast of the edge convincingly, the games between the two teams have been crackers.

Liverpool and Real Madrid met in the final of the European competition in 2018, and it was the men in white who walked home with the title owing to goals from Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.

They then went on to meet in the semifinal of the same event in the 2020-21 campaign where Los Blancos won by a 3-1 margin at the Santiago Bernabeu and played out a goalless draw at Anfield to progress to the next round.

It was again a duel between Real Madrid and Liverpool in the final of the 2021-22 campaign of the UEFA Champions League, and on that occasion, it was Vinicius Jr. who netted the only goal to take his team to the title.

They then faced off over two legs in the Round of 16 of the competition in the 2022-23 campaign with Real Madrid winning 5-2 and 1-0 at Anfield and the Bernabeu respectively. Last year, the two locked horns again, with the Reds prevailing 2-0 in the league phase.

Real Madrid’s record, needless to say, is dominant but Liverpool have faced them in two European finals and two knockout phases in recent years. Tomorrow’s game, needless to say, will be another classic.

A poetic return for Trent?

Trent returns to Anfield. (Photo by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images)

The big story of the summer was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid. The England star, having grown up at Anfield, was expected to be loyal to the team that made him who he was but he opted to sign for the allure of Real Madrid beyond any doubt.

His start to life in Madrid has not been easy, neither in terms of form nor fitness – and the player is in fact just returning from an injury that kept him out for over a month.

Trent’s last game for Real Madrid came back in September against Marseille. He returned to the squad for El Clasico and was on the bench against Valencia but did not see any minutes in either game.

Tomorrow, he travels to Anfield – the stadium he grew up in, developed his skills at, and made a plethora of memories in. To make his return from injury, even as a substitute, at that very venue will be nothing short of poetic.

One can expect a hostile reception for the English international, but it will be a special game for him in every sense of the word.

The start of a long away run

Real Madrid’s schedule in recent weeks has been peculiarly distributed with the team staying at home for over a month now.

Los Blancos’ last game on the road came against Getafe at Coliseum Alfonso Perez over two weeks ago and the team has hosted Juventus, Barcelona, and Valencia back-to-back at the Bernabeu.

Now, the men in white head back onto the road and they will not return back to the Spanish capital for a long time. Tomorrow’s game, thus, marks the beginning of a crucial period for the team.

After the game against Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow night, Real Madrid face Rayo Vallecano, Elche, Olympiacos, Girona, and Athletic Club – all away from home one after the other.

Needless to say, the results over the next month will be crucial to the team’s stance in various competitions and the security of their leads in those events.

Xabi Alonso’s side will thus look to kick-start such a critical period with a win – one that will not be an easy one in any capacity tomorrow.