Real Madrid had a shaky start to the season having won the La Liga in the previous season. Zinedine Zidane's men struggled in the La Liga while rivals Atletico Madrid were cruising at the top of the table. At the end of the 5th UCL matchday, Real Madrid were 3rd in their group and starred down at what would have been an embarrassing Europa League downgrade.
Ever since the turn of the year, Zidane has injected the team with immense character and strength. Despite having suffered a large number of injuries and illnesses to many important players on many different occasions Los Blancos have been solid and consistent. Starlets Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard and Dani Carvajal have missed the majority of the season so far. Players like Lucas Vazquez, Nacho, Eder Militao and Vinicius Jr. have stepped up to the occasion whenever called up.
Real Madrid managed to hold still and displayed a defensive masterclass to end the match 0-0 at Anfield after winning the home leg 3-1. Ramos, Varane, Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez all missed the match on Wednesday but that seemed to have no effect as Los Merengues defended as a team throughout the 90 minutes. Federico Valverde started the game out of position at right-back. Reports suggest that the Uruguayan took painkiller injections to start the game and ended up playing the entire 90 minutes.
With 8 games left in La Liga Real Madrid sit at 2nd place 1 point ahead of Barcelona and 1 point behind Atletico Madrid. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid still have to play each other which puts Real Madrid in pole position to retain the La Liga. Madrid will play Chelsea in what will be their record 30th appearance in the UCL Semi-Final. The experience of these Real Madrid team at the big stage will be a massive factor in the remainder of the season.
