Jürgen Klopp claimed a reunion with Real Madrid would not provoke harrowing memories of his last meeting.
Sadly for the Liverpool manager, the reminders were inescapable. The date changed, the venue was different, but it was the same sobering scoreline as in the Champions League final three years ago.
Maybe the sight of those iconic white shirts sent Klopp’s players into post-traumatic stress as they reconstructed the calamitous defensive errors which gifted the Spaniards the European Cup in Kiev.
All three Real goals in their 3-1 victory were avoidable, a couple of unspectacular long balls responsible for two before half-time, then Alisson Becker allowed a routine effort to evade him in a manner more befitting of Loris Karius. Vinicius Jr’s two goals allowed him to fill the Gareth Bale role, Marco Asensio striking the other.
As in 2018, Liverpool even indulged in a first half substitution, although this was tactical rather
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