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Big Match Feature: Liverpool v Real Madrid
For the third season running, Liverpool welcome a Spanish side to Anfield needing to overturn a first-leg deficit afterReal Madrid were 3-1 winners on home soil.
Madrid, who also beat Liverpool 3-1 in the 2018 Uefa Champions League final, the sides' last meeting before thisseason, seized control of this tie with a dominant display in the Spanish capital.
First-half goals from Vinícius Júnior(27) and Marco Asensio (36) put Madrid in charge and, though Mohamed Salah revived Liverpool's hopes six minutesafter half-time, Vinícius Júnior gave Madrid a two-goal cushion to take to Merseyside with his second of the night inthe 65th minute.
The pair, who have 19 European Cup successes between them, set up this meeting by each finishing first in theirgroup before easing through the round of 16, Madrid seeing off Atalanta and Liverpool safely negotiating their tieagainst Leipzig. Both sides' 2019-20 Uefa Champions League campaigns were ended by clubs from their opponents'country in the last 16, holders Liverpool being eliminated by Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid bowing out againstManchester City.
The winners of this tie will face Chelsea in the semifinal.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
The sides have twice met in European Cup finals, Liverpool winning the 1981 decider in Paris – the teams' firstfixture – and Madrid claiming their 13th title, and third in a row, in Kyiv in 2018.
The teams' last meeting before this tie came at Kyiv's NSC Olimpiyski on 26 May 2018, Zinédine Zidane's Madridbecoming the first team to win three successive European Cups twice with a 3-1 victory against a Liverpool sidemanaged, as now, by Jürgen Klopp. Karim Benzema's 51st-minute opener was cancelled out within four minutes bySadio Mané, but two goals from substitute Gareth Bale (64, 83) – including a stunning overhead effort – took thetrophy to Madrid again.
The first leg was the sides' seventh meeting, all in the European Cup. Madrid now have four wins to Liverpool'sthree, and have scored 10 goals, two more than their English opponents.
The teams also crossed paths in the 2014-15 group stage, Madrid winning both games with Benzema scoring twicein the first, a 3-0 away win. The Frenchman also got the only goal as Madrid won 1-0 in Spain two weeks later.
Liverpool beat Madrid 5-0 on aggregate in the 2008/09 round of 16. Rafael Benítez's Reds won the first leg 1-0 inSpain, Yossi Benayoun getting the only goal with eight minutes left, before completing a comfortable aggregate victorywith a 4-0 success back on Merseyside – Madrid's biggest Uefa Champions League defeat – thanks to two StevenGerrard goals (28pen, 47) and further strikes from Fernando Torres (16) and Andrea Dossena (88).
Bob Paisley's Liverpool also beat Madrid, coached by Vujadin Boškov, 1-0 in the 1981 European Champion Clubs'Cup final in Paris, Alan Kennedy scoring the only goal nine minutes from time.
FORM GUIDE
Liverpool
Liverpool have won 11 of their previous 15 European Cup quarterfinals:
2018-19 Porto W 6-1 (2-0 h, 4-1 a)
2017-18 Manchester City W 5-1 (3-0 h, 2-1 a)
2008-09 Chelsea L 5-7 (1-3 h, 4-4 a)
2007-08 Arsenal W 5-3 (1-1 a, 4-2 h)
2006-07 PSV Eindhoven W 4-0 (3-0 a, 1-0 h)
2004-05 Juventus W 2-1 (2-1 h, 0-0 a)
2001-02 Bayer Leverkusen L 3-4 (1-0 h, 2-4 a)
1984-85 Austria Wien W 5-2 (1-1 a, 4-1 h)
1983-84 Benfica W 5-1 (1-0 h, 4-1 a)
1982-83 Widzew Lódz L 3-4 (0-2 a, 3-2 h)
1981-82 CSKA Sofia L 1-2 (1-0 h, 0-2 a)
1980-81 CSKA Sofia W 6-1 (5-1 h, 1-0 a)
1977-78 Benfica W 6-2 (2-1 a, 4-1 h)
1976-77 St-Étienne W 3-2 (0-1 a, 3-1 h)
1964-65 Köln W 2-2, Liverpool won on coin toss (0-0 a, 0-0 h, 2-2 n)
The Reds won their first three games in this season's competition without conceding, beating Ajax (1-0) and Atalanta(5-0) away and Midtjylland (2-0) at home. A 2-0 defeat by the Italian side on matchday four was their first group stagereverse at Anfield since October 2014, but progress and first place were assured by another 1-0 win against Ajax onmatchday five before a closing 1-1 draw at Midtjylland.
Klopp's team then won 2-0 in both legs against Leipzig at Budapest's Puskás Aréna in the round of 16.
Liverpool have won 15 of their last 24 European fixtures (D3 L6).
The Reds are in the Uefa Champions League for the 13th time; this is the eighth season in which they havereached the quarter-finals.
Liverpool were champions of England for the 19th time in 2019-20, their first league title since 1990.
Klopp's side also finished top of group E in 2019-20, recovering from losing their opening fixture 2-0 at Napoli toadvance with 13 points ahead of the Italian club. They sealed progress on Matchday 6 with a 2-0 victory at Salzburg.
Liverpool had won their sixth European Cup in 2018-19, but their defence of the trophy came to a halt in the round of16, Atlético winning 1-0 in Spain and, after extra time, 3-2 at Anfield. The latter result ended Liverpool's 25-matchunbeaten home run in Europe (W18 D7), since the 3-0 loss to Real Madrid on 22 October 2014, and was their firstaggregate defeat in 12 two-legged knockout ties in Uefa competition.
Defeat by Atlético last season and Atalanta this have made it two losses in Liverpool's last four European games atAnfield (W2).
Last season's elimination by Atlético was Liverpool's first two-legged defeat in the Uefa Champions League since a7-5 aggregate loss to Chelsea in the 2008/09 quarter-finals.
That aggregate defeat against Atlético ended Liverpool's perfect record against Spanish clubs in two-leggedEuropean Cup knockout ties; they had won all the previous four. Their overall record in two-legged knockout ties withLiga sides in all Uefa club competitions is W9 L3; including single-match finals it is W11 L5.
Liverpool have won only two of their last 13 fixtures against Spanish clubs (D2 L9) – a sequence that also includes3-1 losses under Klopp in the 2016 Uefa Europa League final to Sevilla and the 2018 Uefa Champions League finalto Real Madrid.
The Merseysiders have won only six of their 19 games against Spanish visitors at Anfield (D7 L6), although theyhave been victorious in four of the last seven (D1 L2).
Liverpool have won 14 of the 29 Uefa competition ties in which they lost the away first leg, but were defeated in themost recent, against Atlético last season. When beaten away 3-1 in the first leg, they have lost both ties: againstAnderlecht in the 1978 Uefa Super Cup (2-1 h) and Celta Vigo in the 1998/99 Uefa Cup third round (0-1 h).
Liverpool's record in five Uefa penalty shoot-outs is W4 L1:
4-2 v Roma, 1983-84 European Champion Clubs' Cup final
3-2 v AC Milan, 2004-05 Uefa Champions League final
4-1 v Chelsea, 2006-07 Uefa Champions League semi-final
4-5 v Besiktas, 2014-15 Uefa Europa League round of 32
5-4 v Chelsea, 2019 Uefa Super Cup
Real Madrid
• Madrid are in the European Cup quarterfinals for the 36th time, more than any other side. Their record is W29 L6:
2017-18 Juventus W 4-3 (3-0 a, 1-3 h)
2016-17 Bayern München W 6-3 (2-1 a, 4-2 h)
2015-16 Wolfsburg W 3-2 (0-2 a, 3-0 h)
2014-15 Atlético de Madrid W 1-0 (0-0 a, 1-0 h)
2013-14 Borussia Dortmund W 3-2 (3-0 h, 0-2 a)
2012-13 Galatasaray W 5-3 (3-0 h, 2-3 a)
2011-12 APOEL W 8-2 (3-0 a, 5-2 h)
2010-11 Tottenham W 5-0 (4-0 h, 1-0 a)
2003-04 Monaco L 5-5, away goals (4-2 h, 1-3 a)
2002-03 Manchester United W 6-5 (3-1 h, 3-4 a)
2001-02 Bayern München W 3-2 (1-2 a, 2-0 h)
2000-01 Galatasaray W 5-3 (2-3 a, 3-0 h)
1999-00 Manchester United W 3-2 (0-0 h, 3-2 a)
1998-99 Dynamo Kyiv L 1-3 (1-1 h, 0-2 a)
1997-98 Bayer Leverkusen W 4-1 (1-1 a, 3-0 h)
1995-96 Juventus L 1-2 (1-0 h, 0-2 a)
1990-91 Spartak Moskva L 1-3 (0-0 a, 1-3 h)
1988-89 PSV Eindhoven W 3-2 (1-1 a, 2-1 h)
1987-88 Bayern München W 4-3 (2-3 a, 2-0 h)
1986-87 Crvena zvezda W 4-4 away goals (2-4 a, 2-0 h)
1980-81 Spartak Moskva W 2-0 (0-0 a, 2-0 h)
1979-80 Celtic W 3-2 (0-2 a, 3-0 h)
1975-76 Borussia Mönchengladbach W 3-3 away goals (2-2 a, 1-1 h)
1972-73 Dynamo Kyiv W 3-0 (0-0 a, 3-0 h)
1967-68 Sparta Praha W 4-2 (3-0 h, 1-2 a)
1966-67 Internazionale Milano L 0-3 (0-1 a, 0-2 h)
1965-66 Anderlecht W 4-3 (0-1 a, 4-2 h)
1964-65 Benfica L 3-6 (1-5 a, 2-1 h)
1963-64 AC Milan W 4-3 (4-1 h, 0-2 a)
1961-62 Juventus W 3-1 replay (1-0 a, 0-1 h)
1959-60 Nice W 6-3 (2-3 a, 4-0 h)
1958-59 Wiener Sport-Club W 7-1 (0-0 a, 7-1 h)
1957-58 Sevilla W 10-2 (8-0 h, 2-2 a)
1956-57 Nice W 6-2 (3-0 h, 3-2 a)
1955-56 Partizan W 4-3 (4-0 h, 0-3 a)
The wins against Inter were followed by a 2-0 loss at Shakhtar, but Mönchengladbach were then beaten by the same scoreline in the final round of group games.
Madrid, therefore, finished first in their group for only the second time in the last five seasons but for the 17th time inall, second only to Barcelona (21).
Zidane's side then beat Atalanta away (1-0) and at home (3-1) in the round of 16 to reach their first quarterfinalsince 2017-18, when they went on to beat Liverpool in the final.
Madrid have won six of their last seven Uefa Champions League matches (L1), including all of the last four, havingmanaged one victory in their previous six (D2 L3). They have lost seven of their last 20 games in the competition(W10 D3).
The Spanish side have won 18 of their last 30 European away matches, losing seven.
Spanish champions for a record-extending 34th time in 2019/20, this is Madrid's 25th Uefa Champions Leaguecampaign – a joint-record along with Barcelona. They have qualified for the knockout rounds in all of their 25 seasons,also a competition best.
This is the 13-time champions' 51st European Cup campaign, more than any other side.
In 2019-20, Zidane's team were runners-up in their section behind eventual finalists Paris Saint-Germain, finishingon 11 points, five fewer than Paris. Their campaign came to an end in the round of 16 as they lost 2-1 home and awayto Manchester City.
Having reached the semifinals or better for eight successive seasons between 2010-11 and 2017-18, that wasMadrid's second successive last-16 elimination having bowed out against Ajax in 2018-19.
This is Madrid's 17th appearance in the Uefa Champions League quarterfinals. It is the first time this century thatthey have been Spain's lone representatives in the last eight.
Benzema's goal on matchday two means he has matched the record of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in scoringin 16 successive Uefa Champions League campaigns.
Madrid's record in two-legged knockout ties against English clubs is W8 L5; they had won three in a row before lastseason's defeat by Manchester City.
The Merengues have lost their last two away games against English clubs, at City last season and at Tottenham inthe 2017-18 group stage (1-3). The latter was Madrid's first loss to English opposition since the 4-0 reverse atLiverpool in 2009 and ended their five-match unbeaten run in England (W3 D2). Madrid's away record against Englishclubs is W6 D4 L7.
Madrid have gone through in 47 of 60 European ties after winning the first leg at home, most recently against ParisSaint-Germain in the 2017-18 round of 16 (3-1 h, 2-1 a). That was the tenth time they had won 3-1 in the home firstleg and their sixth aggregate victory.
Madrid's record in four Uefa penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
5-6 v Crvena zvezda, 1974-75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinal
3-1 v Juventus, 1986-87 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round
1-3 v Bayern München, 2011-12 Uefa Champions League semifinal 11
5-3 v Atlético de Madrid, 2015-16 Uefa Champions League final
LINKS AND TRIVIA
Fabinho was on loan at Madrid in 2012-13, making one appearance for the senior side in what proved his onlyseason at the club before joining Monaco.
Klopp oversaw four games against Madrid as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2012-13. After a 2-1 win in Germany and2-2 draw in Spain in the group stage, the teams met again in the semifinals, Dortmund going through despite a 2-0away second-leg defeat having won 4-1 at home, Robert Lewandowski scoring all four of the Bundesliga side's goals.Benzema and Sergio Ramos scored for Madrid in the second leg.
The following season Madrid ousted Klopp's Dortmund in the quarterfinals, Isco scoring in a 3-0 first-leg win at theBernabéu. The Spanish side held on despite a 2-0 away loss in the return.
Have played in England:
Luka Modric (Tottenham 2008–12)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea 2012–19)
Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea 2014–18)
Modric faced Liverpool eight times with Tottenham (W5 D1 L2) and scored once, a penalty in a 2-0 victory at Anfieldin May 2011.
Have played together:
Thiago Alcántara & Toni Kroos (Bayern München 2013-14)
Mohamed Salah & Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard (Chelsea 2014)
International teammates:
Alisson, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino & Casemiro, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Éder Militão (Brazil)
Thiago Alcántara & Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Marco Asensio, Lucas Vázquez, Isco, Álvaro Odriozola, Nacho(Spain)
Divock Origi & Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard (Belgium)
LATEST NEWS
Liverpool
Fabinho made his 50th appearance in the Uefa Champions League, group stage to final, in the first leg.
Liverpool were 2-1 winners at home to Aston Villa on Saturday, only their ninth victory in their last 22 matches in allcompetitions (D3 L10). It was their sixth win in their last 12 games (L6) and ended a run of six successive homeleague defeats.
Mohamed Salah got Liverpool's first goal on Saturday, ending the club's run of 762 minutes without scoring fromopen play at Anfield.
Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the 91st-minute winner against Villa; it was Liverpool's 37th winning goal in the 90thminute or after in the Premier League, 12 more than any other club.
The Reds have suffered eight defeats in their last 15 Premier League matches – as many as in their previous 121games.
Liverpool's 68-match unbeaten home league run (W55 D13) was ended by a 1-0 reverse against Burnley on 21January. They also lost their next five Premier League matches at Anfield, against Brighton (0-1), Manchester City (1-4), Everton (0-2), Chelsea (0-1) and Fulham (0-1) – the first time in Liverpool's history they had lost six successivehome matches.
Before beating Villa, Jürgen Klopp's side had not won at Anfield since a 2-1 victory against Tottenham on 16December; their record between those two wins was D2 L6. That was their longest run of top-flight games without ahome victory since a ten-game sequence between October 1951 and March 1952.
Liverpool last lost six home league games in a season in 1953-54, when they finished bottom; that is also the lasttime they were relegated.
The defeat by Chelsea made Liverpool the first English champions to lose five successive home games in thefollowing campaign.
The 7-2 loss at Aston Villa on 4 October was the first time Liverpool had conceded seven goals in a game since April1963, in a 7-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool were also the first reigning English champions to concedeseven goals in a league match since September 1953, when Arsenal lost 7-1 at Sunderland.
Liverpool have 52 points after 31 games of this season's Premier League, 34 less than at the same stage of lastseason.
Klopp's side have conceded 50 goals in their 45 games in all competitions this season; six of their 16 clean sheetshave come in the Uefa Champions League. They have managed five clean sheets in their last 17 matches.
Joe Gomez damaged a tendon in his left knee in training with England on 11 November and has not played since.
Virgil van Dijk has been out since sustaining a serious knee injury in a 2-2 draw at Everton on 17 October.
Joël Matip was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering an ankle injury in a 3-1 Premier League win atTottenham on 28 January; he has been removed from Liverpool's Uefa Champions League squad.
Jordan Henderson has been out since suffering a groin injury in the defeat by Everton on 20 February. Hesubsequently underwent surgery on the problem.
Van Dijk and Thiago Alcántara were included in the Uefa.com fans' Men's Team of the Year 2020.
Real Madrid
Thibaut Courtois' next appearance in the Uefa Champions League, group stage to final, will be his 50th.
Madrid are unbeaten in 13 matches in all competitions (W11 D2). They were 2-1 home winners against Barcelona onSaturday, their sixth successive victory.
A 2-1 loss at home to Levante on 30 January is Madrid's only defeat in their last 20 Liga matches (W15 D4).
Karim Benzema, who opened the scoring against Barcelona, has 11 goals in his last ten Liga matches and nine inhis last seven. He had scored in seven successive Madrid appearances in all competitions before drawing a blank inthe first leg.
Benzema has scored in his last seven Liga matches; he is the fourth Real Madrid player to find the net in at leastseven successive league games in the 21st century after Ruud van Nistelrooy (2007), Cristiano Ronaldo (four times)and Gareth Bale (2018).
Toni Kroos scored the winner against Barcelona on Saturday, his first goal in El Clásico and his first for Madrid froma free-kick.
Marco Asensio had found the net in four consecutive Madrid appearances before drawing a blank as a substitute onSaturday. He had not scored in successive matches for the club since October 2017.
Dani Carvajal made his first appearance since 2 January in a 2-0 home win against Valencia on 14 February afterrecovering from a hamstring injury, but suffered a recurrence of the problem and was substituted after 28 minutes. Hehas not played since, although he is back in full training.
Sergio Ramos returned from knee surgery that had kept him out since 14 Jan in the 2-1 home victory against Elcheon 13 March. However, a calf muscle injury sustained on international duty with Spain has ruled him out of this tie.
Having been sidelined between 28 November and 30 December with a muscle injury, Eden Hazard picked up a thighinjury in training and had not played since that loss to Levante before coming on as a substitute against Elche.However, he has since been sidelined by another muscle problem, returning only recently to training.
Luka Modric scored a penalty in Croatia's 3-0 Fifa World Cup qualifying win against Malta on 30 March. Three daysearlier, in another qualifier against Cyprus, he had become Croatia's most-capped international, making his 135thappearance.
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