Brendan Rodgers is hoping Liverpool will be able to produce a performance close to their best when they take on Real Madrid in the Bernabeu tonight, despite going into the tie as huge underdogs.
The Reds went down to a 0-3 defeat at home to the reigning European champions almost a fortnight ago, and the Liverpool boss is hoping lessons will have been learnt from a testing night of Champions League football.
Rodgers said: “We started very well in the game at Anfield – we were aggressive in our pressing and we passed the ball very quickly. But we gave away a goal too early on in the game and from that they had the confidence and scored what we would consider two poor goals.
“So the key, even though we know it’s tough, is to make sure as a team we are very compact, we’re very disciplined tactically in our game, to close the spaces and put the pressure on the dangerous areas of the field.
“When we have the ball, we need to create problems ourselves. I think we showed in the previous game that, even though the score was 3-0, we could still have moments where we could hurt the opponent and that will be the idea to.
“It’s a wonderful arena. It’s one of the most iconic football grounds in the world. The pitch will be perfect; it’s a fast pitch and when you come up against the best opponents, that’s the challenge and that’s what makes you perform to your best.
“They are in a very good moment. We see it as an opportunity. We still very much have the opportunity to qualify from the group. We’re not coming here as a team that is expecting to lose and then look at the other games as games we have to qualify.
“We’re very much focused on ourselves. We know it’s in our hands to qualify out of the group and that’s still the objective. It’s still in our hands, so that’s something that we will look forward to hopefully achieving.”
