The reigning Premier League champions are 3-1 behind the first leg in the Spanish capital, so a smaller margin to overturn. But Robertson singled out the lack of fans as a reason why the comparison cannot be made.
It’s a big challenge for Liverpool
Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson has admitted that there are few comparisons between the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid and their semi-final comeback against Barcelona a couple of years ago. The reigning Premier League champions are 3-1 behind the first leg in the Spanish capital, so a smaller margin to overturn. But Robertson singled out the lack of fans as a reason why the comparison cannot be made. “Both games against Barcelona and Real Madrid are different,” Robertson said during Tuesday’s pre-match press conference. “Barcelona was an incredible night and would be impossible with the fans. The noise they made. Tomorrow we don’t have that against the most experienced in the tournament. It is a big challenge for us. It is not the same.”
The fans made the Reds feel 10 feet tall
Speaking about that Barcelona comeback, the Scotland international acknowledged that the Liverpool players themselves have to generate the atmosphere. “Barcelona’s game would have been impossible without the fans. The fans made us feel 10 feet tall,” Robertson said. “Walking out to 55,000 other people who believed, they gave you that extra 10 per cent. We have to try to create that atmosphere in the dressing room before we go out. We have got to have no regrets.” Robertson admits that Liverpool need to be thoroughly improved their performance from the first match if they want to advance to the semi-finals. “The first stage was disappointing. The performance level was not at the level it should be,” he said. “We gave away three cheap goals that could probably have been avoided, but we got an away goal that was probably the only bonus that night.”
Tomorrow it should be a game close to perfect
“We gave ourselves a chance, and we should try to use that to stay in the competition. Tomorrow I think it’s important to go into the game as a normal game and put them under pressure. We need to try to keep a clean sheet, defensively be on the highest mark, and take any chances.” Finally, the left-back made it clear that Liverpool will have to play the perfect game if they want to knock out Real Madrid. “We’re still in the competition,” Robertson explained. “Perhaps not many give us hope, but we believe that we can achieve a better performance than last week. That is the only way that gives us a chance to fight. We need to be better in everything we do, the pressure on the incredibly experienced team and try to make it uncomfortable for them.”
“It should be a game close to perfect. We’ve done it in the past, but we can’t rely on that. We have to try to create our atmosphere.”