Carlo Ancelotti revealed that he took a massive gamble against Liverpool …that paid off eventually!
The Real Madrid boss had decided to surprise the Reds with tactics inspired from the Champions League final against the Reds last May, by abandoning a cautious style to put the emphasis on all out attack.
It paid off spectacularly in the end, with five unanswered goals in 46 minutes either side of half time, but not before Liverpool had stormed to a two goal lead. And the Italian boss said: “What was I thinking then? I remembered the Manchester City game game in the semi final and we improved in that game.
“I was hoping the same thing might happen and we have done even better than that. Get over the initial period of pressure and keep cool. It all worked out in the end.
“We gambled on scoring here - we wanted to be strong up front with a forward line that gave us a chance of scoring. We changed the tactics from the final, where we played with a low block.
“We hoped the game would be open and we picked a team for an open game. It worked. But I have to say that Liverpool are such a dangerous opponent, and a fantastic team who made us suffer with some fantastic intensity."
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While his side now have a commanding lead in the tie, Ancelotti has cautioned his troops to not get complacent ahead of the return leg in Madrid. Instead, he warned that Liverpool will come out fighting at the Bernabeu.
"Winning at Anfield isn't easy and doing so in a convincing manner is even more difficult. We're very pleased about that. The team showed that they're improving and that they've been at a good level in February after a tough January," Ancelotti added.
"The season doesn't stop and we have to be at our best. We're pleased and we're confident we can do well. We have gained an advantage from the first 90 minutes and now we have to manage the second 90 in Madrid well.
"Liverpool are a highly competitive team and unfortunately the tie isn't over. Liverpool are a great team because they play at a high tempo and that's tough to come by in Europe. It's going to be tough for us."
While Ancelotti was complimentary to Liverpool, their former defender Jamie Carragher was scathing about his old club’s defence…and singled out Virgil van Dijk for some ferocious comments.
“Virgil van Dijk said I wouldn't get in that back four a few months ago. I think I'd take his place at the moment,” he said.
"That was shambolic from Liverpool. Embarrassing. We've made excuses for them all season, but that was a disgrace in that second half. To lose that half 3-0 when you're attacking the Kop at 2-2 and in a knockout game. Shambolic."
