The date will be renewed at Anfield in Liverpool on Tuesday, February 21, with the first-leg meeting of the round of 16, which is the match that is considered an early final since it is a repeat of the 2022 final, in Paris, Stade de France, where Real Madrid won the title 1-0, following the goal of Brazilian Vinicius Jr. and thanks to the brilliance of the Belgian goalkeeper. Thibaut Courtois with 9 saves.
The royal, who holds the record for winning 14 titles, faces a difficult test once morest Liverpool, England, who has 6 titles, the last of which was in 2019. Liverpool held a knot once morest Real Madrid, 9 matches ended with 3 wins and a draw, compared to 5 Real Madrid victories.
Liverpool won the first 3 matches in the 1981 final, with a free goal for the Reds, with the goal of Alan Kennedy, then in two matches in the 2008-2009 seasons, with a free goal and 4-0.
Spanish technical leadership for the two teams at the time, Rafael Benitez, coach of Liverpool, outperformed Juande Ramos, coach of Real Madrid, and following 14 years, we witnessed 6 matches, Real won 5 of them and tied once, including the Kiev final in 2018 that ended with a score of 1-2 for Real, and the Paris final 2022. With a free goal for Real as well.
Liverpool is not in its best condition and qualified as the second in the first group with the same balance as Napoli, Italy, and Napoli excelled in goals and direct confrontations by 15 points each with a group that included Dutch Ajax and Scottish Rangers. From the FA Cup, and also the last champion from the fourth round 1-2 once morest Brighton in the English Premier League in eighth place with 35 points, in 22 matches he suffered 7 defeats by a wide margin, 19 points behind leaders Arsenal with 54 points and Manchester City second with 52 points.
The new year 2023 began with 3 defeats once morest Brentford, Brighton and Wolverhampton, with a relative improvement by winning the last two Merseyside derby matches 2-0 once morest Everton, and a 2-0 victory over Newcastle in St James Park.
Liverpool, despite the return of Dutch defender Van Dyck and Portuguese striker Jota, but he is still suffering from injuries, in light of doubts regarding the participation of Uruguayan Darwin Nunez due to his shoulder injury once morest Newcastle, following scoring the first goal, and the continued absence of Colombian Luis Diaz, Brazilian Artur, Frenchman Ibrahima Konate, and Spain. Thiago Alcantara, and young defender Kelvin Ramsey.
Liverpool is expected to play with a squad consisting of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, in defense Arnold, Gomez, Van Dyck, Robertson, in the middle Fabinho, Henderson, Pestik, and in attack Mohamed Salah and Gakpo (other papers are Milner, Jota and Firmino).
Liverpool’s last 5 participations in the Champions League came out once in the round of 16 in 2018-2019, once morest Atletico Madrid, while Real Madrid won the World Cup for the fifth time in the Club Championship in Morocco following winning 4-1 over Al-Ahly of Egypt in the semi-finals, and in the final it beat Al-Hilal 5-3. The Saudi team qualified as the first in its sixth group with 13 points, ahead of Germany’s Leipzig II by 12 points, Ukrainian Shakhtar and Scottish Celtic. Real Madrid qualified for the King’s Cup semi-finals, bypassing Atletico Madrid and will face Barcelona in my semi-final meeting. Barcelona, the leader with 59 points, following losing Real Mallorca 0-1, won two matches in a row, 4-0 once morest Elche, and 2-0 once morest Osasuna, and Real has absences, most notably the German Toni Kroos, the French Tchoami and Mendy.
The last 5 participations of Real Madrid fell in the round of 16 twice in a row in 2019 once morest Ajax, and 2020 once morest Manchester City, the possible line-up of Royal Courtois with goalkeepers, defense Carvajal, Militau, Rudiger and Alaba, in the middle Modric, Campinga and Ceballos, and attacking Valverde, Karim Benzema and Vinicius (other papers are Asensio and Rodrigo and Lucas and Alvaro).
Another heated confrontation between German coaches Jürgen Klopp (2019 title and runner-up in 2013, 2018 and 2022) and the Italian legend Carlo Ancelotti, the most crowned 4 titles (with Milan in 2003 and 2017 and runner-up in 2005, with the Royal 2014 and 2022).
Direct confrontations 11, Club won (coach Dortmund and Liverpool) on 3 occasions, while Ancelotti won 5 (coach Napoli, Everton and Real Madrid), while the draw was 3 times.
A meeting that Liverpool is trying to save its season by overcoming the obstacle of Real Madrid, breaking the royal knot with an early final, and an expected champion for the current version, on June 10 at Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.
