Trent Alexander-Arnold has sounded a defiant note ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League clash away to Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
The Reds go to Spain with a mountainous task to preserve their interest in the competition, needing to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg at Anfield.
It certainly seems a tall order for Jurgen Klopp’s side, but the England right-back isn’t discounting the possibility of a remarkable rescue act, citing one famous precedent against another La Liga giant in which he played a memorable role.
Liverpool trailed Barcelona 3-0 after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in 2019 but incredibly won 4-0 at home a week later, with Alexander-Arnold’s quick thinking from a corner kick enabling Divock Origi to plunder the decisive goal that night.
Speaking to Liverpool Echo ahead of tomorrow’s clash at the Bernabeu, the 24-year-old said: “We’re going to have to go and do something special in Spain, to be honest. But, you know, it’s one of them where it’s similar to the Barcelona game where we kind of go over there with nothing to lose.
“They are the one with a three-goal lead and you know if we come out of there and we don’t win then OK, we were three goals down, it is what it is. So we don’t feel any pressure.
“We will go there to win the game, to try and get through. We’re not just going to go there and think that it’s already done and we’re out. We still believe.
“We know it is going to be very difficult but we know we’re capable of scoring goals in games and we’re going to have to have a near perfect game to go through to the next round but we never say never.”
It’ll certainly take a monumental performance over 90 minutes (possibly more) for Liverpool to dethrone Real Madrid as Champions League holders, but there are reasons not to discount it as an impossibility.
The iconic triumph over Barcelona that Alexander-Arnold referenced is a legitimate comparison, and even the first leg against Carlo Ancelotti’s side offered glimpses of the Reds at their best.
It might be forgotten in the midst of the eventual 5-2 scoreline that we were actually two goals up inside 20 minutes at Anfield. Should the same happen at the Bernabeu, it might just set Madrid nerves jangling and gee up Klopp’s team to pull off a famous result.
Liverpool may as well abandon all inhibitions, have a go and let their opponents know that they’re not coming to Spain to fulfil a fixture, rather than meekly accepting surrender.