Steven Gerrard agrees with Liverpool’s ‘positive’ statement, but Luka Modrić’s lesson needs to be learned

Steven Gerrard was right with a ‘positive’ statement ahead of Liverpool’s defeat to Real Madrid, when a young player outclassed most of his team-mates.

With the run-up to the game dominated by new concerns over Darwin Núñez’s shoulder, it was easy to overlook the absence of two other key players for Liverpool.

Ibrahima Konaté was missing from central defense following a hamstring injury sustained in Brighton’s FA Cup defeat at the end of January.

Jürgen Klopp’s contingency plan was to select Joe Gomez alongside Virgil van Dijk, but the Englishman had a bad night.

And in midfield, Thiago was sidelined with a hip problem which also questions his participation in the second leg. The gap to the left of Klopp’s midfield was filled by Stefan Bajčetić, who made his 15th appearance for the club, made his ninth start for the club and made his full Champions League debut. He was the youngest player in Liverpool history to start in this competition, ahead of Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen.

At the start of the season, many Liverpool fans didn’t even know the teenager. Now he has started the biggest game of the season so far in place of one of the team’s most important players.

How did he get out? Let’s start with the areas where he could have done better. Bajčetić played a minor role in two of Madrid’s five goals that night.

He tried to outwit the caller’s draw. After Real Madrid cleared a corner from Liverpool, Fabinho played a pass to the Spaniard, who tried to drag the ball between Federico Valverde and Karim Benzema and lost.

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experienced opponent, who then turned to Vinícius Jr for a two-on-two with Benzema. Had it been the other way around, one could imagine that Modrić would have stopped the dangerous attack by any means necessary.

Also, Bajčetić also gave the ball away too often. Only Vinícius and Trent Alexander-Arnold (both 22) lost possession more often than the midfielder (18), and while his long passes were strong (seven from 11 completions), there were too many mistakes in his short game. Only Cody Gakpo (75 percent) and Núñez (66.7) had a lower short hitting success rate than Bajčetić (81.5 percent).

But now let’s look at the positives. As we’ve pinpointed his role in Real’s goal, it’s only fair to also mention the negative pressure pass he played to Jordan Henderson before Liverpool’s goal.

He also came close to scoring with an excellent first attempt curling from 25 yards in the second half.

Part of the reason why Bajčetić has lost so often is that he was brutal in possession, and at times it paid off.

“He’s always trying to pass forward, he’s always trying to be positive,” Liverpool legend Gerrard told BT Sport ahead of the game.

Indeed, Bajčetić would record five progressive passes and three passes in the last third, tied for fourth place in both divisions. And perhaps the most impressive aspect of his performance was his work from possession. Bajčetić pressed well and fought like a tiger in the middle of the park, making four team-high tackles. He once again agreed with Gerrard.

“He shows aggression, he covers the ground very well,” the former Reds skipper said before the match.

Despite his faults, it’s probably still fair to say that he was Liverpool’s best midfielder during the match. It was therefore an evening which simultaneously showcased the inexperience and potential of Liverpool’s greatest talent, chosen by Gerrard with good reason.

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