Brazilian midfielder Fabinho has admitted to finding it difficult to understand what Liverpool have done wrong in their recent encounters with Real Madrid.
The Reds face a daunting task in the Spanish capital on Wednesday evening, needing to overhaul a three-goal deficit after Los Blancos came from 2-0 down to produce a stunning 5-2 away victory in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash at Anfield.
It leaves Jurgen Klopp's side with no choice but to go for broke in the Santiago Bernabeu, living with the risk of being picked off by Carlo Ancelotti's streetwise team at any given moment.
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Should the Reds exit the competition in Madrid as expected, it will be the third time that the Spaniards have ended Liverpool's Champions League dreams in the past six years, after losing both the 2018 and 2022 finals to the team in white. It is something the Reds' experienced midfielder finds difficult to analyse.
Speaking to the media at Tuesday's pre-match press conference in Madrid, Fabinho said: "Matches against Real Madrid, not just the last one, the final last year, are where you ask 'what did we do wrong' and personally I couldn't find an answer. I'm trying to learn from what happened before, but it's a bit difficult. The way we play, no other team plays, risking as much as we do. It would be a mistake to change the way that we play right now."
The odds may be heavily stacked against Liverpool progressing through the tie to the quarterfinal stage, but the 29-year-old is keeping an open mind about what could happen and is looking to the Reds' phenomenal 4-0 comeback against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-final as a source of inspiration to take into the second leg on Wednesday, whilst remaining wary of the threat posed by their hosts.
Fabinho added: "After half-time anything could happen. We have to be cool-headed. That's it. We will try not to be as exposed and still play with the same level of intensity.
"Real Madrid what can I say? They smell blood and if you give them an opportunity they will take it. We learnt a lot from the first match and we will try not to be as exposed. We hope to be at a very focused level for this challenge.
"We have nothing to lose. I think everyone expects Real Madrid to win and go to the quarterfinals. This can be good for us. This group has experience. I have to say [remember] the Barcelona game. We were 3-0 down [from the first leg] and we changed it in the second game. It will be a little bit different because we will not play at Anfield but we know that it's possible, so we have to be really motivated to play this game and to believe to the end."
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