Karim Benzema, who scored three goals in two games for Real Madrid, revealed what he informed Eduardo Camavinga regarding Liverpool’s defensive routine before the second match
Karim Benzema of Real Madrid has revealed what he told midfielder Eduardo Camavinga to help his team overcome Liverpool in the second leg of their Champions League contest.
Los Blancos won 6-2 on aggregate over both legs, with the majority of the damage done in the calamitous first leg at Anfield, where Liverpool lost 5-2 despite being two goals up on the night.
Following the game, Benzema, who scored the sole goal of the second leg, revealed to Camavinga what he told him in an attempt to open up the game for the defending European champions.
“I told Camavinga that the two Liverpool center-backs allow a lot of space. As it occurred in the goal. We are quite pleased with him. He is very young yet very talented “Benzema stated (via the ECHO).
Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté were mentioned as potential ‘weaknesses’ for Real Madrid to exploit, and so it proved, with Camavinga delivering a low ball into Benzema and Liverpool unable to react.
The Reds’ weak defensive play in the center contributed to Bournemouth’s Premier League victory last weekend.
Rio Ferdinand discussed Liverpool’s defensive shortcomings in Madrid, particularly Trent Alexander-Arnold, in the BT Sport studio following the game.
“I simply want to take it back, what I want you to watch is Trent Alexander-Arnold... here he is as the ball goes towards the center forward,” Ferdinand added.
“You’ve got to be thinking defensively, you’ve got to be thinking ‘my two center halves are in difficulty, there’s going be a chance and there may be a ball coming in here at some time’, or at least ‘let me get myself back in to protect my defenders’. It has to be your first and only thought during this part of the game.
“The ball passes through, then look at the separation as the ball drops down to Vincius. As soon as he touches the ball, he’s gone from side-by-side to five yards behind the person he was marking – that’s a world-class attacking player you can’t take your gaze away from.
“He’ll be looking at how he achieved separation inside two seconds-ish to get five yards and a chance at goal and thinking, Oh, I could do better there, because you can’t shut off at this level.”
Liverpool.com says: Liverpool’s defensive frailties have been an issue all season, and it’s debatable if the same problems would have occurred even with a fully functional midfield.
There must be doubts over the likes of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip this summer, while Trent Alexander-Arnold needs to improve his form. Even Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté have struggled in recent games, with both goals for Bournemouth and Real Madrid going down the center.
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