The Reds are basically guaranteed at least a Champions League play-off spot, so the focus should be on Sunday's huge clash with Manchester City
Florentino Perez has ongoing issues with UEFA's governance of the European game, so it's hardly surprising that the Real Madrid president is not a fan of the new Champions League format.
"It has increased the number of matches," the Spaniard said, "but reduced the value of each match." Of course, the irony of supporting a European Super League that would have yielded the exact same result was lost on Perez, but that doesn't mean he's wrong.
On the contrary, Madrid's meeting with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday perfectly proves the point. What should have been one of the marquee matches of the league phase has been stripped of almost all jeopardy – certainly from Liverpool's perspective.
Consequently, Arne Slot should consider doing something that outraged Reds – and an awful lot of interested observers – when Liverpool faced Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu almost exactly 10 years ago…
Getty'Rodgers raised the white flag'
When the Liverpool teamsheet dropped ahead of the Champions League clash with Madrid on November 5, 2014, both the English and Spanish press were stunned. Brendan Rodgers had made seven changes to the side that had played Newcastle in the Premier League the previous weekend, with Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson among those dropped to the bench.
Former Liverpool striker and Spanish football pundit Michael Robinson labelled it an "incredible starting 11" – and not in a good way. "It's one thing to give players rest and another to not respect the contest," the Irishman posted on Twitter. "I think Rodgers has made a mistake. Thousands of Liverpool fans have come to the Bernabeu to see five key players on the bench. Rodgers has raised the white flag of surrender before the game has started."
Robinson's sentiments were shared by presenter Gary Lineker, who said Rodgers had "thrown in the towel".
"Selecting a weakened side in Europe's premier competition, especially against Real Madrid, is unbefitting of a club of Liverpool's stature," the ex-England forward argued. "If I were one of Liverpool's star players, I'd be choked to be left out of a game at the Bernabeu against the European champions."
AdvertisementGetty'Far from throwing in the towel'
Rodgers defended his line-up after the game, effectively arguing that his second string's spirited showing in only losing 1-0 to Karim Benzema's first-half effort had vindicated his decision.
"The performance was far from throwing in the towel," he claimed. "Right to the very end my players put in a performance befitting of the wonderful club this is. That would be my answer [to the criticism]."
However, Rodgers lost an awful lot of credibility when he claimed that a team containing the likes of Lazar Markovic, Fabio Borini and Joe Allen "could get a result" and they had been "unfortunate" not to do so. It was also ludicrous for Rodgers to suggest that he hadn't been resting players for a must-win match with then-Premier League leaders Chelsea just four days later.
The Northern Irishman was under intense pressure at the time. Liverpool had blown a glorious chance to end the club's top-flight title drought the season before and made an atrocious start to the 2014-15 season. They were seventh in the Premier League table – and already 12 points behind leaders Chelsea – when they arrived in Madrid.
Rodgers, then, had clearly prioritised the Premier League – even though Liverpool were just as desperate for points in the Champions League, having already been beaten in Basel and lost at home to Madrid (they would eventually be eliminated after finishing third in weak group that also contained Ludogorets).
Getty'Devastated'
The rights and wrongs of the decision are still debated by Liverpool fans to this day. But what do we know for sure?
Firstly, treating the game "like a friendly on a summer to America", as put it, "greatly damaged" Liverpool's reputation in Spain. Secondly, the ageing Gerrard was among those upset by being benched for such a big game at the Bernabeu, and later admitted that the whole episode played a part in his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
"It was Real Madrid and I wanted to play," the Kop icon wrote in his autobiography. "When I was told I wasn't playing, for the sake of the team and the squad and my relationship with Brendan, I took it and I accepted it. But I sat on that bench devastated because I wanted to play, so it is one of those situations. It sort of pushed me making a decision to move on and try something different."
When one also considers that Liverpool lost their next game, against Chelsea, it's clear that Rodgers' controversial call could not have worked out any worse, as an awful lot of fans began to lose faith in him and were more than happy to see him sacked less than a year later.
gettyChance to pile pressure on Madrid
So, should Slot even consider resting his star men for Wednesday's meeting with Madrid at Anfield? After all, if Liverpool maintain their 100 percent recent in this season's Champions League by beating Los Blancos, they'd have a 73% chance of finishing in the top eight, which means progressing directly to the last 16 and avoiding two extra games in the play-off round. Essentially, the higher up the table Liverpool finish, the easier life should be for them going forward.
Mohamed Salah & Co. also have plenty of history with Madrid and would undoubtedly relish piling more pressure on Carlo Ancelotti's men, who only have six points on the board so far. Another defeat would actually put the reigning champions at risk of elimination, given their next outing is against unbeaten Atalanta in Bergamo.
However, even if Liverpool win, it's still highly likely that Madrid will find their way into the last 16 one way or another, given the farcically forgiving format. The Reds, then, really should only be thinking about themselves, and the cold, hard truth is that the meeting with Madrid pales into insignificance compared to Sunday's showdown with Manchester City.
