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Real Madrid’s Luka Modric summed up the mentality of the Spanish giants with what should be a stern warning to Liverpool ahead of their Champions League round of 16 second leg this week.
The Reds already face an uphill battle in their match against the club after enduring a heavy defeat to Madrid at Anfield.
An Uphill Task for Liverpool
The Reds suffered a 5-2 loss at the hands of their Spanish opponents in the first leg on Merseyside last month despite a good start.
Early goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah appeared to give the home team the upper hand, but Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema, and Eder Militao all scored twice for the visitors.
Real Madrid are currently overwhelming favorites to progress to the quarter finals of the competition, despite the fact that the return leg has yet to be played.
Liverpool are no strangers to dramatic European comebacks though and Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has cited the Madrid-Chelsea match from last season, in which the Spanish giants won the first leg 3-1 at Stamford Bridge before nearly crashing out.
Modric: ‘We Are Going To Crush Them’
A new AppleTV series titled Real Madrid: Hasta el final has recently debuted and shown the cut throat mentality that exists at the club. The program describes the Spanish club’s incredible run to the Champions League title last year.
In what was one of the most spectacular Champions League victories in the competition’s history, the club defeated a number of tournament favorites to win the cup for the 14th time in their history, including multiple comebacks that defied belief.
In the Round of 16, they overcame a 0-2 deficit on aggregate to defeat Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. The Spanish giants then defeated the elite of the Premier League in Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool on route to the title.
In an episode, Croatian midfield maestro Luka Modric recalls what was going on as Madrid trailed 1-0 after the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against PSG following the opening game in Paris.
“There was a lot of criticism and such, and we knew that we had to change,” Modric said.
“But despite not playing well and that they were better, when I left the field I gave Carvajal a message that turned out to be true,” the midfielder added.
The former Tottenham midfielder explained to the cameras exactly what he had said to his teammatea fter that defeat.
“We are going to crush them in the return leg,” Modric recalled.
While Los Blancos did not outclass or outplay their opponents, Karim Benzema’s incredible hat-trick in the final half-hour of the game turned the match on its head and propelled Modric’s squad to the quarter finals of the tournament.
Their approach and demeanor displayed on the new TV series demonstrates just how difficult it will be for the Reds to win this match.
With the Reds already trailing by a three goal margin, if Madrid adopt a similar attitude coming into Wednesday’s tie, then it will be a huge task for Liverpool to make an impact.
