Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard was horrified by his former side’s 5-2 demolition at the hands of Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
The Reds suffered their worst ever European loss at Anfield, blowing a two-goal lead and collapsing in a rematch of last season’s Champions League final.
Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah goals put the hosts ahead early on, before a Vinicius Junior double sent the two sides into the break on level terms. Eder Militao nodded Real Madrid ahead on the other side of half-time, with Karim Benzema adding two further goals in the second half.
Speaking post-match, Jurgen Klopp admitted that he believes Real Madrid’s progression to the quarter-finals is all but secure.
On BT Sport, Gerrard was similarly critical of the manner of such a defeat, slamming Liverpool for being “outclassed” while suggesting they do a “bit of soul searching” to recover.
“[Liverpool] got off to the perfect start, exactly what you need on a European night – start fast, get yourself in front, build on it. They went 2-0 up, but from that moment Real Madrid came back into it, scored quite quick – fantastic goal,” Gerrard began.
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“From then, Liverpool were dominated and outclassed for large periods. Look, I think any team, any club, if you concede five goals there’s got to be an inquest into why and how. I’m sure Jurgen will do that in the coming days. I think everyone will be a little bit raw on the back of that defeat.
“Liverpool don’t concede five goals here at Anfield, and if they do, it’s very rare. There’s gonna be a little bit of soul-searching, a little bit of looking in the mirror, sure, there always is when you concede that many goals. It weren’t good enough.”
“Sometimes in football, you’ve got to hold your hands up and say the best team won. Liverpool were outclassed, Liverpool were dominated. They [Real Madrid] were better in most areas of the pitch, you’d have to say.
“They got off to a slow start but the experience, the reaction was absolutely top class. And we’re witnessing here absolute greatness in Modric and Benzema; you’re talking about players that are operating on a different level than most.”
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