Tops

Trent Alexander-Arnold, the decisive marathon
The British side put in a high-level performance on Wednesday night. Extremely active on his right lane, he eliminated many of Madrid’s attacks by making speaking with his speed and sense of centeredness. But the England international was particularly decisive with two performances in the first half. The first is for Diogo Jota with a millimeter position bouncing in front of the Portuguese who should just wrap up. Less than ten minutes later, his right-footed attempt turned into a assist for Sadio Mane. Since the 2018-2019 season, only Kevin De Bruyne, among the players playing in the Premier League, has provided more assists than Trent Alexander-Arnold in all competitions. After a more delicate season, the right-back is back to his best this season and his evening game will not be the one to say otherwise.

Diogo Jota, what an activity!
The dodger, the Portuguese, who was put at the forefront of the Reds’ attack, did a lot of damage to Colchoneros’ backguard by increasing calls at the back of the opponent’s defence. He opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a superb header from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross. The Portuguese could have doubled the stakes without a masterful intervention from Jan Oblak with his header blank shortly before the break. The former Wolverhampton player came close to scoring twice on his way back from the locker room but saw his goal disallowed due to an incredibly light offside position. A match of a very high level for the former Porto is well established in this lively group.

Sadio Mane: Strength, Ingenuity, Talent
The Senegalese only spent half the time in Anfield. Pretty much enough to impress the English speaker with his immense talent. The former Southampton – who trained at Metz – also made his sense of goal by resuming a right-footed shot from Trent Alexander-Arnold after an action for which he was responsible. Perfectly placed in the penalty area, his flat left foot left Jan Oblak no chance. A few minutes later, it was he who caused Felipe to be disqualified by overtaking the Brazilian defender. On Wednesday evening, Sadio Mane recalled how important he was to this Liverpool team.

flops

Felipe: Expensive parcel
Felipe saw red on Wednesday night. First, because he saw a succession of red waves pass in front of him for the entire first half hour. Then because his interference, or rather his pettiness, on Sadio Mane earned him a red card that almost ended the match. In his defence, one can consider the Dutch referee’s decision to be severe because the error occurs in the middle of the field and the Brazilian does not eliminate a clear opportunity to score. However, if the Real Madrid defender had been more solid against Sadio Mane, he would not have received this red card that put his partners, who have already embarked poorly, in a very unfortunate position.

Joao Felix: The Invisible Man
The Portuguese striker was recruited for nearly €120m in the summer of 2019, and he has struggled to justify such an amount since arriving in the Spanish capital. If his talent is undeniable, he is able to miss his games just like he was tonight. Transparent, he didn’t present anything offensively and was completely contained by the Reds’ rearguard. Is he playing in a team that is too cautious and offensive to express his qualities? Could. However, the former Benfica did not hit once on goal on Wednesday and only touched 23 small balls in an hour on the grass.