I could feel the excitement radiating off the pitch like ripples. It was obvious. It was a reminder of what this team can do against the best teams in the world. Liverpool defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League for the second year in a row.
Head coach Arn Slott must have felt his team had turned a corner after ending a four-game losing streak in the Premier League with a professional win over Aston Villa, but last weekend’s heartbreaking loss to Manchester City showed the Reds were just going round and round.
Liverpool will be outclassed in every corner of the Etihad Stadium, and Slott will be disappointed to have lost to Josep Guardiola on the tactical chessboard. Indeed, he is not the first manager to lose such a battle with the Spaniards.
However, the Reds have struggled to do the basics and are far from the level they were last season, when they dispatched so many opponents and won the league title with relative ease.
The tactical imbalance has been evident all season, with Liverpool clearly without Luis Dias, who has been in great form for Bayern Munich this season.
If the slot problems continue, FSG could be forced to sign a new version of the Columbia edition.
Liverpool aim to replace Dias
Florian Wirtz’s struggles since leaving Bayer Leverkusen to join Liverpool for £116m this summer have been well-documented.
The 22-year-old German playmaker is one of the most talented footballers in the game, but has yet to find the physicality or fluency to succeed in the Premier League and may want to take a page from Dias’ book in that regard.
Aside from Dias’ ability in the final third, his work rate is relentlessly fast, adding width and dynamism to the flank. Liverpool need a piece of that and it looks like they’ve found the candidate.
Indeed, sources in Spain have revealed that sporting director Richard Hughes has confirmed that Liverpool are interested in Real Madrid star Rodrygo, who has fallen significantly down the pecking order under manager Xabi Alonso.
Arsenal and Chelsea are also keen on the Brazil international, and Manchester City’s plot was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano this summer.
Florentino Perez wants €90m (about £79m) for the versatile forward, but given his reduced role at Real Madrid over the past year or so, FSG are likely to move to reduce that hefty price tag.
What Rodrygo offers Liverpool
Rodrigo ended the 2024/25 season in a slump. A few seasons ago, the 24-year-old was considered one of the best wingers in the world, but his limited role at Real meant he was unable to maintain that tag.
This season, Alonso has given Rodrygo just three starts across La Liga and the Champions League. Although he is yet to score a goal, he has provided two assists on the continent. All this points to a divorce from Santiago Bernabéu. Because he is one of the most exciting and talented wide forwards in Europe and he should have a role in the wing that reflects that.
Liverpool could offer this to him. Slott wanted to offer Rio Ngmoja a path to the first team during the summer, which is ostensibly why he did not make Dias a direct replacement.
This turned out to be a mistake, as the 17-year-old is still not trusted to start games and make an impact.
Rodrygo has the maturity and world experience to not only challenge Wertz and Codi Gakpo for a starting spot, but also to stake his claim to a starring role on the pitch at Anfield.
Sometimes statistics need to be seen in a broader context. Consider Rodrygo’s struggles in Spain’s top flight last year, when he scored just six goals and provided six assists in 30 games.
Are you poor? Now, Rodrygo has been given just 12 starts by manager Carlo Ancelotti, and SofaScore’s data suggests he missed just one big chance, underscoring his clinical nature.
What’s more, the South American maverick scored six goals and provided an assist on the left wing last year, despite being given just 12 appearances in all competitions. The left wing beckons at Liverpool, where he could reshape the world-famous status that has seen him on the biggest stage to date.
And even after this testing period, Rodrigo’s underlying qualities do not lie, as evidenced by the many tactical similarities with Diaz over the past 12 months.
Rodrigo vs Luis Diaz (last 12 months) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics (per 90) | rodrigo | Diaz |
the goal | 0.31 | 0.47 |
assist | 0.23 | 0.20 |
shot taken | 2.78 | 2.92 |
The action that creates the shot | 4.71 | 4.21 |
Pass completion rate | 85.4 | 83.0 |
touch (to pen) | 6.49 | 6.27 |
progressive path | 4.40 | 4.21 |
progressive carry | 5.91 | 3.73 |
successful take-up | 2.47 | 1.98 |
Number of balls collected | 3.75 | 4.40 |
Tackle + Interception | 2.09 | 1.36 |
Data via FBref | ||
Interestingly, the tactical differences between the two are not that great. And that’s despite Rodrygo having fallen to the fringes of Los Blancos long before this summer’s managerial change.
With Alonso in charge, it’s clear that Rodrygo won’t be able to enjoy the regular playing time that his talent deserves. After all, Luka Modric once described him as one of the club’s “world-class superstars”.
Dias has been incredibly prolific since joining Bayern from Liverpool in August, a level rarely maintained in the notoriously difficult Premier League, but there is no denying that Liverpool are missing Dias and his athleticism.
Rodrigo could be the perfect tonic to turn the ship around. After all, Alonso doesn’t seem to want him, Liverpool only need his profile.
No one knows whether the Reds will be able to pull off their bold winter swoop, but with their Premier League rivals also in the hunt, Hughes needs to deliver something if this season is to be considered a success.