Liverpool v Real Madrid

Anfield, 7.45pm, RTE 2, Sky Sports 5

Steven Gerrard is demanding a much improved performance from his inconsistent Liverpool side against Real Madrid tonight. Anything resembling the lacklustre display against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, the captain has warned, and the result could be embarrassing.

“I think every player in the dressing room realises that we can’t have any passengers against opposition of Real Madrid’s quality or we will get beat convincingly,” Gerrard said. “That applies to me personally as well. Everyone who is picked for the Real Madrid game, from the starting 11 to the subs, has to be on their game. We are playing against the best side in Europe and, if we have just two or three passengers, it can become embarrassing. We need to be right on it because sides as good as Real Madrid can be deadly on the counterattack away from home.”

Liverpool are making their first appearance in the Champions League for five years, and playing the holders, but Gerrard is not expected to be granted any leeway. “I don’t think any of us players expect it, I never experienced that under Rafa (Benitez) or at any time,” he said. “You can’t just say: ‘Oh, it’s nice to be in the Champions League again.’ We are about to be judged. We are playing against the best side in Europe and the message to the players is simple. We need a performance.”

Having lost away from home at Basel last time out, Liverpool need a result.

Best chance

“We slipped up in Switzerland so we now have to take something out of either of the games against Real,” Gerrard said. “I think our best chance is at home but the plan is to get something out of both games. Beating Real Madrid is a big ask but it is possible. A result in the first game would certainly help us get out of the group and I think a performance is due. The performance at QPR wasn’t good enough but I think everyone will respect that when Real Madrid come into town it is a different game to get yourself up for.

“Most places Real Madrid go, with the current players and form they are in, they are expected to win. I understand that. I even understand we are the underdogs but, with the atmosphere we have here and the players raising their game, it might be possible to cause an upset.”

Gerrard scored twice on the occasion five years ago when Liverpool beat Real Madrid 4-0, the last time the two teams met, although he accepts that the Spanish giants have become stronger over the intervening years. "That was a wonderful evening and a fabulous team performance. Nights like that stay with you forever," Gerrard said. "We could do with something like that this time, though with all respect to the 2009 team, Real Madrid have moved forward since then. So has Cristiano Ronaldo. I thought when he played for United he was world-class, his figures in England were good, but since then he has gone to another level. He is a phenomenal player now, arguably the best in the world, but even without Gareth Bale Real Madrid are full of good players. It would be a big mistake to concentrate on any individual opponent. It is more important to get our own game right."

Bale’s absence with a muscle injury is one of the few lucky breaks Liverpool have had this week, although Real Madrid still have any number of attacking talents who can cause problems for a defence that conceded twice at Loftus Road.

Pressing game

The former Liverpool player, Jamie Carragher, now a TV pundit, responded to that narrow victory by arguing that Mario Balotelli ought to be dropped, on the basis that he is not mobile enough to cause Real Madrid problems or hard-working enough to implement the pressing game

Brendan Rodgers

favours.

The manager is still likely to play him, however, because with Daniel Sturridge injured he has few convincing alternatives. “Mario was disappointed with his performance at the weekend but at least he was getting into the right positions,” Rodgers said. “He wants to score, it is only a matter of time before the goals arrive. Mario will be really motivated to perform well. He has got experience of performing in the big, big games and he has got that experience to take into the contest. This is a home match in the Champions League and, if you want to get anywhere, you have to win those.

“Maybe what people haven’t seen in our recent games is the character and competitive spirit we have produced to dig out results. This game and games like it will serve as great experience. We are a very young side. There are only two teams that were younger than us last season, one was Villa who almost got relegated and Cardiff, who did, so that tells me how well the young players did. It will be a big night and, no matter the result, it will make them better players.”

That does not apply to Gerrard, who has already had his share of big European nights and is coming towards the end of his career, a career that could have taken him to play in Madrid, had he so wished.

“I did have a couple of openings and, of course, it was very flattering to be linked with a club like Real Madrid but in the end Liverpool won out,” he said. “That may be something I regret later in my career. I might feel I didn’t challenge myself enough but I think it would have caused me much more regret to leave Liverpool.” Guardian Service