After Liverpool lost to Real Madrid in last year’s Champions League final, Carlo Ancelotti would infamously claim the Reds were predictable to play against.
“I think it helped that Liverpool were easier to decipher than the others,” he said in Paris. “Because they have a very clear identity and we could prepare the way that we did. We knew what strategy to take - don’t give them space behind the defence to run into.”
Jurgen Klopp would even reference such a claim nine months on when speaking ahead of the latest meeting between the two clubs in this year’s round-of-16.
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“Yeah, they are (the ultimate test),” he admitted on Monday. “So somebody told me - and I don't even know if it was true or not - that Carlo said after the final that (with) Liverpool it’s cool they knew exactly what they will face.”
Ancelotti’s comments have remained in the back of Liverpool minds since last May, and maybe even got under their skin during their struggles this year. But they now have a chance to make him eat those very words.
Yet, if we’re being honest, what the Italian said was true. The Reds’ identity in football is well-documented, with it obvious that Liverpool at their best is a side pressing the opposition hard, making the most of turnovers and their pace to get in behind defences.
Such an identity has admittedly been lacking this season, however, with the Reds struggling for the majority. Yet their recent revival, beating Everton and Newcastle United, has seen them rediscover their basics. A look at all four goals scored in both 2-0 wins and you will see Liverpool getting the ball quickly in different ways and then making the most of spaces behind both defences.
As a result, Ancelotti and Real Madrid perhaps again know the strategy the Reds will take. But this time it at least comes with a little twist.
When Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez from Benfica for an initial £64m last summer, at the time his arrival was seen, in part, as a way to counter Ancelotti’s predictability claims. The Reds had opted against fielding a traditional number nine for the entirety of Klopp’s reign after all, with the Uruguayan certainly something different to attacking options past and present.
At first he was fielded as a traditional number nine. And while he is a physical targetman, the Uruguayan is still a mobile, pacey forward who thrives in those spaces behind a defence in the final third. While critics have taken every opportunity to mock Nunez’s finishing this year, he has still proven himself a very effective, albeit extremely raw, attacking option.
Boasting 11 goals and four assists from 28 appearances, he has become Liverpool’s ‘captain chaos’. Always involved at the thick of the action, you can never take your eyes off him with the 23-year-old boasting a constant ability to make something out of nothing while remaining completely unpredictable.
However, he has arguably played his best football for the Reds when utilised on the left-wing, either side of the World Cup, with Transfermarkt crediting four of his goals and two of his assists coming from eight appearances in such a role. Meanwhile, he has contributed to goals in every outing on the flank in the Premier League, with only one of his goals not coming from his four matches in the position in the English top-flight.
By playing on the left, he has started to resemble Sadio Mane or Luis Diaz, making the most of his electric pace and power to cause defences problems. In this sense, little has changed compared to when Ancelotti called Liverpool ‘easy to decipher’, though Nunez offers a stronger combination of both.
Having limped off with a shoulder injury against Newcastle United, there were fears that the forward would miss the Reds’ home clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday night. Fortunately, he took part in open training on Monday, after Klopp confirmed he had a chance of playing.
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“There is a chance, from all the possible scenarios. Apart from being absolutely nothing - that's not the case,” the German told reporters when asked if the £64m man can play. “We have to see how he can deal with the pain. When we know that, we will make a decision.”
If Nunez is fit to start, you can expect him to again bring his predictable unpredictability and cause Real Madrid problems, with Cody Gakpo continuing as a false nine and Mohamed Salah on the right. How well they stop him and Liverpool from having space in the final third will help decide the game.
But if he is still suffering, his absence will create a new unpredictability. Namely, whether Gakpo continues down the middle or reverts to the left-flank, and who comes in in his place between Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino.
After losing a second Champions League final to Real Madrid in four years, the Reds signed Nunez to be their match-winner on the biggest occasions. Only time will tell if he is in a position to do so at Anfield on Tuesday night.
But regardless of whether he’s fit to start or not, his presence makes Liverpool unpredictable either way. While the Reds’ now rediscovered identity might not have changed too much since Paris, Nunez is about to help Klopp's men put Ancelotti’s infamous claim to the test.
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