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Real striker Vinícius Júnior, coach Zidane: "Yes, yes, there was something"
Photo:
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno / Getty Images
And now the Clásico.
Zinédine Zidane was asked whether he would think of it immediately.
"Today we should enjoy this victory and tomorrow we'll see," said the Real Madrid coach, to correct himself immediately: "Oh, not tomorrow either."
This is the case with the record European cup winners and especially with coach Zidane when they are on the wave.
Then nothing can disturb her.
Then it doesn't seem to matter whether the duel against arch-rivals Barcelona, which is very decisive for the league, is pending between two quarter-finals against Liverpool (Saturday, 9 p.m.).
Then suddenly everyone is playing like a king at all times and the victories get the air of a procession.
Like on Tuesday evening at 3-1 in the first leg against Jürgen Klopp's team.
Then suddenly it can even happen what has not really wanted to happen in the past few years: that not only the old shine, but also a young one.
The slow change, Zidane's alleged deficits in player development, the frustrated departures of players like Martin Ødegaard or Luka Jovic had fueled lavish crisis debates for months.
»› Vini ‹deserves it«
But when it came down to it, the celebrated match winner wasn't 33-year-old Karim Benzema or the injured missing 35-year-old captain Sergio Ramos.
It was Vinícius Júnior, one of those talents that Zidane is said to have no use for.
The eternal romance of the Madrilenians with the Champions League has apparently also saved their relationship.
Vinícius, 20, has always dribbled and sprinted spectacularly, but also regularly stumbled on top scoring opportunities.
If he is more efficient, he has the potential to become a formative player for the next decade, which has always been considered undisputed.
Just not whether that efficiency would ever come.
Now that she was there, she drove the club into a frenzy.
“'Vini' deserves it,” said Zidane and club director Emilio Butragueño in unison.
The storm legend saved especially unctuous words but also for the best veteran, Toni Kroos, who even by his standards acts with outstanding precision: "It is a privilege to have him on our team."
Sharp reviews
Yes, and then TV came up with one of those statistics that like to round off such evenings.
The coach Zidane has now coached exactly 50 Champions League games, and won 31 of them.
More than anyone in today's format of competition.
This is of course not bad for someone who - if he doesn't just win the tournament again, as in three of his four attempts - likes to be portrayed as a bit simple-minded.
The reviews were so biting again this season that some fear that he could voluntarily resign again in the summer like 2018. And that it will then go as it did back then: Most only appreciate him when they miss him.
Zidane is a coach who doesn't coach more than he has to.
But that doesn't make him a worse coach.
He just doesn't complicate things when he sees the easy way out.
And certainly not after that he does anything about it.
Opponent's weaknesses match Real's strengths
"Yes, yes, there was something," he mumbled about the approach, which was widely analyzed as a crucial trick, of playing high balls over the Liverpool defense.
In the next moment he seemed to think again how he could put it as humbly as possible: "Because their full-backs are very offensive." He didn't even mention other ingredients of the match plan - constant game shifts, appearances by Vinícius;
it was enough that the plan had been implemented correctly.
Real could have shot out an even bigger lead because it was not only technically stronger - as expected - but also physically and tactically.
And because the opponent's weaknesses were ideally combined with one's own strengths.
If there are gaps like Liverpool - accentuated by the catastrophic defensive behavior of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and the inexperienced emergency central defense - Toni Kroos finds her so relaxed that he personally showed Vínícius the route before his pass to make it 1-0.
The Madrilenians have a harder time with the massive defenses that they usually meet in the Spanish league.
But such a withdrawal tactic is out of the question for Klopp.
"If you want to go to the semi-finals, you have to earn it," said Liverpool coach.
“We didn't do that today.
The good news is the result, it gives us a little life. "
Klopp has experience administering the appropriate antidote to Spanish teams a week later.
The 4-0 at home after 3-0 in Barcelona two years ago is unforgettable.
Of course, it owed "80 percent to the fans," as he admitted.
The clinical atmosphere of Corona football is rather of no help against technically better teams.
But after the trip to the suburban campus, which Real is currently playing on because of the construction work in its Bernabéu stadium, which is depressing in every respect, there is an advantage on Anfield Road, according to Klopp: "At least it's a stadium."