In the end Liverpool didn’t get the cuffing that many expected when they realised that Henderson, Gerrard and Sterling wouldn’t be taking part and Kolo Toure would be starting in defence.
As it turned out Toure was the better of the two centre backs on the night with Skrtel looking out of sorts.
We know that the season is a marathon and not a sprint. But aren’t these sorts of occasions – Real Madrid at the Bernabeu – what Liverpool have been working so hard towards over the last 5 years?
Games like these don’t come along often and players like Sterling and Gerrard must surely have been gutted not to start.
But 1-0 leaves Liverpool’s fragile confidence intact and they are at least fresh for another massive encounter against the league leaders at the weekend.
We hope to see Daniel Sturridge in the squad this weekend but Balotelli is likely to start. And the injury list doesn’t look too bad with Enrique, Sakho and Flanagan the main absentees.
Moreno played well against Madrid and we want to see him start on Saturday (Kick Off 12:45 local time). He can offer a lot going forward. The experience of Johnson may be the preferred option for the other flank.
Other than that it’s a question of how Brendan Rodgers positions his three behind the striker. We think that Lallana should pull the strings in the hole and allow Sterling and Coutinho to use their pace in wider positions.
Here’s our XI, fitness permitting, for a game which we think Liverpool will take something from.
