Real Madrid Continue to Improve, as They Sweep Aside Liverpool in Europe

Real Madrid weren’t to be fazed by the occasion. History was against them, having lost all of their previous meetings with Liverpool and failing to record a single goal. So too was the emotion and the famed atmosphere of Anfield.

But with Cristiano Ronaldo continuing his stunning goalscoring form of this season—that’s 20 goals now in all competitions, and it’s only October—Real cruised through a major test in Europe against Liverpool, winning 3-0 and setting themselves up nicely for this weekend’s Clasico against Barcelona.

It is the Catalans who have set the pace in La Liga, leading the way on 22 points. But Luis Enrique’s men, having kept clean sheets in all of their league outings thus far, failed to overcome their big test against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last month.

Similarly, Liverpool could have been seen as a good opportunity to measure just how far Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid have come since the high-profile departures of the summer.

An interesting and important point about the Real Madrid of this season is the style of football and the manner they have gone about their business. Toni Kroos has come in and taken up Xabi Alonso’s old role ahead of the back four. The German, while exceptional in retaining possession and keeping the game ticking over in Real’s favour, doesn’t have the defensive awareness or the selflessness of the Spaniard.

Against Liverpool, it was those attacking qualities that really came to the fore. Kroos completed an outstanding 97.8 percent of his passes (via WhoScored) and helped to set the tone after an initial hectic opening 15 minutes.

This is no longer a team that relies heavily on the counter-attacking qualities of players like Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Real’s second goal was an excellent example of how well they keep the ball moving with purpose in the final third, waiting for that moment to unlock a defence.

Sure, Liverpool have long been criticised for a leaky defence—and that’s being kind—but it takes extremely lofty qualities to first find those openings in the opposition defence and then take those chances.

Karim Benzema’s first goal, assisted by Kroos, tells of a Real Madrid who are becoming more and more pleasing on the eye in a possession-based sense.

And if there was defensive concern at the start of the season upon Alonso’s departure to Bayern Munich, Real are steadily learning to adapt with what they currently have.

In a three-man midfield formation adopted by Ancelotti last season, Isco, alongside Kroos and Luka Modric, was also one of the standout players for the reigning European Champions on Wednesday night.

There was a fair bit of experimentation with the former Malaga player last season, as Ancelotti struggled to find a role for Isco in the side. But the youngster’s improvement at both ends of the field has been especially pleasing.

Isco, losing the ball early on to Mario Balotelli—who was in turn heavily criticised for not playing in Raheem Sterling—tracked back and dispossessed the unsure Italian. In the second half, Isco once again made amends for a mistake by playing the defensive game required of all three in Ancelotti’s midfield.

The opening stages of the game gave nothing away about what was to transpire. It was fast-paced; the game being played in both ends of the pitch. But Ronaldo’s goal immediately took the wind out of Liverpool’s sails. Once Karim Benzema, who has also been excellent of late, had put his chances away to go into half-time at 3-0, it was game over. Real were simply a class apart.

Liverpool look a side without a clear superstar to lead them on occasions such as this. Real Madrid have them in abundance.

If we’re to praise the attacking exploits of the goalscorers and those supporting in midfield, Raphael Varane also showed why he deserves a starting role alongside Sergio Ramos in the heart of defence. There is little the Frenchman can’t do, able to physically impose himself and armed with the kind of pace to match the very best attackers around Europe.

Having won 5-0 at Levante this past weekend, Real Madrid will use this 3-0 win at Liverpool as another log to fuel their efforts against Barcelona this coming Saturday.