Trying to get Liverpool fans to criticise Jurgen Klopp is a task akin to drawing blood out of a stone, and for very good reason.
Over the course of eight-and-a-half years in charge, the German dragged the Reds from the doldrums to claiming every trophy available and, at one point between 2019 and 2020, to being arguably the best team in the world.
He also struck up a strong emotional bond with a group of supporters who have always asked that of their manager.
Still, for all that he achieved, if there is one blot on Klopp’s copybook that even the most ardent Kopite could not ignore, it is surely his record against Real Madrid. In six clashes with the La Liga giants across his time at Anfield, Liverpool failed to win a game, drawing one and losing the other five. And the most galling aspect of that paltry return is surely that two of those losses came in Champions League finals.
That record means it is now, in fact, 15 years since Liverpool’s last win over Real Madrid, which came in the last 16 of the Champions League during Rafael Benitez’s tenure. Back then, even after losing the first leg 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real arrived on Merseyside bullish about their prospects of reaching the next round – the Spanish sports daily, MARCA, infamously emblazoned the headline ‘Esto Es Anfield. Y Que?’ (This Is Anfield. And What?) across their front page.
Madrid ended up being thrashed 4-0.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Madrid have avoided underestimating their opponents in that way ever since, even if Klopp did everything he could to try and trick them into doing so.
As Thomas Tuchel once said of his compatriot: “You know Klopp is the master of being the underdog. He can talk you into being the underdog against Villarreal and against Benfica and it’s a miracle how they even draw against them.”
But in the 2022 Champions League final meeting between these two clubs, Madrid were able to offer up the perfect counter to that motivational tactic: possessing sufficient confidence to reject the underdog tag themselves all while being capable of playing like one.
Liverpool rained down 24 shots on their opponents’ goal in Paris, with nine of those forcing saves from the impenetrable Thibaut Courtois. Madrid, meanwhile, managed just four attempts, and came away with the trophy thanks to the only one of those that hit the target.
Still, Europe’s most successful team are far from one-dimensional, and their dominance of this rivalry owes much to an ability to find different ways to inflict defeat on Liverpool depending on the circumstances.
Take, for example, the 2018 final in Kyiv, which saw a vastly superior and more experienced Madrid side emphasise the gulf in quality and nous by simply playing around Klopp’s gegenpress with ease.
And in truth, the majority of Madrid’s wins in the intervening years have followed this pattern, rather than the rope-a-dope approach Ancelotti leaned on in 2022.
So, clearly, something had to change for Liverpool to finally get one over on their bogey team and, while no fan would’ve chosen a Klopp departure, there is every possibility that Arne Slot’s arrival could be decisive.
The Dutchman has a good early chance to go where his predecessor could not at Anfield on Wednesday, not least because his team are in excellent form – Sunday’s 3-2 win over Southampton taking them eight points clear at the top of the Premier League – and an injury-hit Madrid are decidedly not.
What’s more, he has already shown signs that he might approach this type of game in a totally different way, as appears to be necessary. For starters, Liverpool won’t be anywhere near as reliant on Madrid falling into their pressing traps given that Slot’s use of that tactic is far less prominent.
Secondly, it also seems that the new manager is a little more comfortable with the idea of his team going into such games as favourites. Asked in October whether his players might get carried away with their lofty position at the top of the Premier League, he simply replied: “We’re Liverpool, players here are used to being top of the table.”
Of course, as much as Slot’s differences could prove to be a positive, he will do well to surpass the record of a manager who reached four European finals in his eight-and-a-half years at Liverpool. But victory over the 15-time Champions Leage winners would certainly be a good start on that front, and end a hoodoo that ensured Klopp’s trophy return was not quite what it could have been.
