Why Liverpool will REPLACE Real Madrid as Europe’s team to beat

Wednesday night was special for a myriad of reasons.

Harvey Elliott finally having his moment in the sun under Arne Slot, Alisson proving that he is still the world’s number one, and Darwin Nunez showing that he is capable of perfect centre-forward play after all.

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But the real take away from the evening should be the win.

It was by no means pretty, it was by no means perfect, but it was the rarest example of something Liverpool haven’t actually shown they can do under Arne Slot yet - win despite not deserving to.

Liverpool's new strategy rivals Real Madrid

Since Slot arrived at the helm at Anfield, Liverpool have primarily dominated games and won them comfortably. The occasions where results have dropped this season - Arsenal away, Manchester United at home, Aston Villa away, for example - stemmed from the Reds being unable to deliver properly in attack when soaking up pressure.

But it was different in Paris this week. Liverpool’s game plan was clear. Force shots from outside the box, counter as quickly as possible.

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It invited even more pressure. There was no presence up front to hold the ball up, so PSG would simply return with wave after wave of attack.

But in finding The Great Wall of Brazil behind Liverpool’s defensive line, the Reds struck with a moment of opportunism that basically hasn’t been seen all season. Darwin Nunez pushed two men out of the way, played in Harvey Elliott, and Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to deal with the only thing he had to all night.

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This hasn’t been Liverpool’s M.O. for a while now. In Europe and in the league, control has been the aim of the game. But have Liverpool finally found their Real Madrid gene?

The Spanish giants have, annoyingly, been the kings of this for years. Pacy, technically gifted attackers punish stretched sides who are gambling against a dogged defensive performance. Its won them six Champions League’s over the past decade.

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If Liverpool can sustain performances like this then it may just be time to start really believing European Cup number seven is on. There aren’t many attacking lines in the world playing better than PSG’s young core right now.

If they couldn’t stand up to the Reds then maybe they should start believing that no one can.

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