Liverpool’s quest for a seventh Champions League title is in doubt after losing to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
The Reds went down 3-1 to the Spanish giants at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium, due to the Santiago Bernabeu being renovated.
Liverpool’s only saving grace was an away goal scored by Mohamed Salah.
The Egypt international, a £35 million signing in 2017, won’t score many more scrappier goals than that, but it does give Jurgen Klopp’s side a lifeline ahead of the return leg at Anfield next Wednesday – even if it was a ‘complete and utter fluke’ according to one of the club’s former players, Steve Nicol.
He told ESPN: “By the way, the goal was a complete and utter fluke. Diogo Jota kicked it into the ground with his big toe, it came off Modric, hit Salah off the back of the leg, ricocheted off his other leg and somehow he poked it home.”
Was it lucky? Absolutely, but you need strokes of luck in any competition, especially the Champions League.
The bottom line is that Liverpool were horrifically bad defensively on the night and if they’re not miles better on Merseyside, they’ll be going out.
Some Liverpool fans will be optimistic that they can reach the semi-finals and rightly so, given the quality that Klopp has in his ranks.
But at the back, they have to be much better.
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