Liverpool handed another humbling defeat by Real Madrid

Even if the last-16 tie is just halfway over, even the most enthusiastic Liverpool fans will find it difficult to think their club can win by four goals at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Yet, it was a night that began so brilliantly for Liverpool. Liverpool surged into an early two-goal lead courtesy of Darwin Nez's brilliant flick and an awful blunder from Thibaut Courtois that allowed Mo Salah to pounce, coming into this match off back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since December. But, everything quickly fell apart, as it has several times this season. Vincius Jr. scored twice before halftime, the first a stunning finish into the bottom corner and the second owing to a disastrous error by Alisson.
Real Madrid came out blazing in the second half, seizing the lead for the first time inside the first two minutes thanks to Éder Milito's header, before Karim Benzema's brace put the game out of reach. Similar collapses have plagued Liverpool since the season resumed following the World Cup, with comparable collapses occurring against Brentford, Brighton, and Wolves in the Premier League.
Klopp seemed powerless on the sidelines once more as his squad crumbled, barely able to summon a sardonic, hopeless smile as the cameras swung to him after Real Madrid's fifth goal.
Even though it is just the start of March, many pundits are saying that Liverpool's season is effectively over. The squad has been knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cup, is all but out of the Champions League, and is out of the top four in the Premier League. The only opportunity for the squad to save the season is to finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League next season. It's not an insurmountable job, with Liverpool trailing Tottenham in fourth place by nine points but having two games in hand.
It's been a spectacular collapse for a squad that was unquestionably one of the greatest in the world last season, with a genuine possibility of achieving an unprecedented quadruple.
After chasing championships on all four fronts, Liverpool won the FA Cup and League Cup but lost the Premier League by a point to Manchester City and the Champions League final 1-0 to Real Madrid. Those two demoralizing defeats have had an impact on the squad this season, and many supporters have pointed to a lack of investment - particularly in the midfield - from the club's Fenway Sports Group owners as a contributing factor to the team's shortcomings.
There are many parallels to Klopp's final season as manager of Borussia Dortmund, but there are no signs that the German will leave Anfield. Klopp has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of leaving, and the owners and supporters do not want to see the man who has led Liverpool back to the top of English and European football depart anytime soon.
The manager of the Reds eventually resigned from his positions as head coach of the German teams Mainz and Borussia Dortmund after spending seven seasons at each club, but not before reaching noteworthy levels of success in both of those capacities. During his stint at Mainz, he was an essential cog in the club's promotion to the Bundesliga for the very first time in its history. During his time at Dortmund, the club won back-to-back titles under his direction in 2011 and 2012.
To put it mildly, the Merseyside club has not exactly had stellar performances up to this point in the season. It would appear that the club's manager, Jürgen Klopp, has come to terms with the fact that the club he is responsible for is going through challenging times at the moment and has adjusted the club's goals to reflect this reality.
Klopp, who is widely regarded as one of the most successful football managers of the modern era, is also subject to the cycle of constructing a squad, leading it to its peak performance, and then seeing that performance decline. In the sport of football, this is a practice that practically every manager is required to go through.
Throughout his career, the German has managed three different teams, and he has had an unmistakable impact on every one of them. It was not possible for his successors at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund to attain the same level of success as he had at those two clubs. For example, since Jurgen Klopp stepped down as manager of Borussia Dortmund in 2015, the club has not won the Bundesliga championship. Nonetheless, his time as a coach with both teams came to an end after seven seasons, and Jürgen Klopp is currently in the middle of his seventh season as the manager of Liverpool.
Liverpool, unlike Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain, is a club with financial constraints. Because owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are not among the wealthiest, it is critical for Liverpool to secure a Champions League berth every season to maintain parity with other major teams by signing quality players.
With the present state of the team and the form of the other teams at the top of the league, it is exceedingly improbable that Liverpool will qualify for the Champions League via the traditional route but it is also not impossible. Klopp will need Anfield Stadium rocking and every fan singing behind the team till the end of this challenging season. So, get your Liverpool tickets at seatsnet.com and help the red salvage this wreck of a season.
With the FSG attempting to sell the club or its holdings, the team must finish in the top four for the owners to benefit. Since the FSG takeover, Liverpool's salary structure has been exceedingly narrow. Without the attraction of money or the possibility to earn top accolades, attracting elite players will be incredibly difficult.
Liverpool's defense was exposed against Brighton's speed in that encounter, and the team had no solutions. Joel Matip, the aging defender, and the inexperienced Ibrahim Konate appeared startled. Klopp employs a high defensive line, which is always vulnerable to rapid counterattacks by the opponent when the entire back line is not on the same page. Since January 2018, the defense has been led by Virgil Van Dyk. Yet, he has been absolutely out of place this season. He appeared tired after returning from World Cup duty for the Netherlands, and he was hurt in a game against Brentford, leaving him out for a few weeks.
The midfield has also contributed to this continuous disaster. Jordan Henderson, Fabinhio, and Thiago Alcantara no longer have the stamina to carry out Klopp's rigorous pressing approach. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita spend more time on the bench than on the pitch. Summer acquisition Arthur Melo from Juventus was injured before making his debut. Harvey Elliot and Curtis Jones are inexperienced enough to turn this ship around.
Notwithstanding the defensive and midfield crises, the management continues to overload the front line with attackers. As the team needed midfielders, the owners added another winger, Cody Gakpo, during the January transfer window. Liverpool currently has seven frontline players but not enough in other areas.