"Since winning the Champions League in 2019, Liverpool's performance in the knockout stage of the competition has been, by their own lofty standards, little short of abysmal. Home and away R16 defeats to Atletico Madrid in 2020. A meek quarter-final surrender to Real Madrid in 2021. Home and away R16 defeats to Real Madrid in 2023."
"Given their historical status as European royalty, the Redmen need to raise their game. Which, to be fair, they've been doing in Europe this season. Their travails in the Premier League are well documented, but they won six out of eight games in the group stage, that 4-1 thrashing by PSV Eindhoven a really weird outlier."
"And Gala are not a club Liverpool like playing: the Reds have won just one of five previous games against them, with their only other defeat in the group stage coming from an unfortunate and extremely soft penalty decision at Galatasaray."
Liverpool faces Galatasaray with significant squad rotation following their FA Cup victory over Wolves. Goalkeeper Alisson's injury forces Mamardashvili into the starting XI, while defensive adjustments include Kerkez at left back and Konate's return to central defence. Wirtz and Ekitike replace Ngumoha and Gakpo in attack. Liverpool's Champions League knockout performance has been disappointing since their 2019 title win, marked by multiple early eliminations to top European sides. However, their group stage performance this season shows improvement with six wins from eight matches, though they face a challenging opponent in Galatasaray, against whom they have a poor historical record with just one win in five previous encounters.
#champions-league #liverpool-lineup-changes #galatasaray #european-football #knockout-stage-performance
Read at www.theguardian.com
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