Vinicius vs. Alexander-Arnold. Why can this fight decide the whole final?

Real Madrid have great dispatchers in Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, Fede Valverde has a cannon in his foot, Rodrygo and Eduardo Camavinga are perfect jokers, but the biggest danger comes from Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior. And it is his duel with Trent Alexander-Arnold that could decide the entire final.

Liverpool’s first task is to defend Benzema, but paradoxically that doesn’t add that many wrinkles to Liverpool’s game. Sure, he’s probably the best player in the world at the moment, but firstly, he’ll be defended by Virgil Van Dijk, who is one of the best stoppers in the world, and secondly, Benzema is sometimes just unstoppable, he can’t even be defended. That’s when the defenders just have to pray.

So stopping Vinícius can be much more achievable. Indeed, the Brazilian youngster is literally flying this season and tearing apart opposing defences, but if he is carefully covered, there is not much he can do, unlike Benzema who finds a loophole even when he is invisible for the whole game.

And that’s what makes for an interesting encounter, as Vinícius will be defended by right back Trent Alexander-Arnold. A perfect executor of standard situations, a modern full-back with an amazing kicking technique… With huge problems just defending.

Last year’s quarterfinals

Liverpool must learn from last year’s quarter-final, when Real punished the Reds just down the left flank. Indeed, Klopp’s charges arrived in Madrid with their defence stretched high, but long balls beyond Alexander-Arnold decided the game. In the match played in Valdebebas, TAA had overall problems defending the opponent.

Right at the start of the game, they were schoolboyishly hacked by Mendy who crossed into the box and Vinícius’ header went just wide of the bar. Moments later, the Reds had already cashed in. Vinícius received a millimetre pass from Kroos between Alexander-Arnold and Philips, worked the ball onto his chest and scored.

That the passes for Arnold were not by chance but by a well thought out tactic was shown in the following minutes. Kroos’s long ball to Mendy this time TAA caught and headed home the little one to the keeper, only for Asensio to catch it, outmuscle Alisson and score.

The Liverpool right-back also had a hand in Real’s third goal. Notice how he has Vinícius covered at the start of the action, but the Brazilian takes a couple of steps forward to set up Modric’s pass. However, Arnold inexplicably takes a step back instead of catching up with Vinícius, even though he has no one else around him. The Real left winger finishes comfortably to increase the score to 3-1.

Benzema’s rebound

If you look again at Real’s second goal from Asensio, you’ll notice one interesting moment. This was not a random action, but a well-prepared strategy.

Benzema bounces off the stoppers into the midfield, pulling the Liverpool defence up a few steps. But it’s mostly Vinícius, in this case Mendy, waiting on the left wing. Kroos waits for the right moment and sends the ball beyond the advancing defence, with the winger on the left side having a significant advantage going forward.

This is exactly what Liverpool need to avoid, as Benzema does it often enough. He bounces between the defenders and midfielders so he doesn’t have to fight the stoppers for the ball. This evokes the stoppers to come out, only it opens up space behind them, where Vinícius and Valverde or Rodrygo are already starting.

The other thing is that Alexander-Arnold must not stop attacking. Sure, he needs to be extremely focused on the defensive end, as he has players in the vital phase against him. But at the same time, he remains the Reds’ most creative player and the potential absence of Thiago would hurt Liverpool’s offensive creativity even more.

It’s just that Klopp will have to work something out for that, as Vinícius deliberately stays very high when defending, sometimes as high as the middle of the park. He takes the right-back with him, who then doesn’t get involved in the attack. But if TAA stays in the defensive half, he won’t be dangerous there at all. This offers the possibility of pulling back a defensive midfielder, either Henderson or Fabinho, to help defend Vinícius and allow Arnold to attack.

Second attempt

Arnold’s first clash with Vinícius didn’t work out at all. Real Madrid made a tearing calendar out of the Liverpool right-back, who then failed to concentrate even on attack and was thus useless in last year’s quarter-final.

Now he has a second go. To prove he’s not as bad at defending as everyone keeps telling him. Prove he’s improved a lot this year. Prove that he is rightfully called the best right back in the world by some.

The duel between Vinícius and Alexander-Arnold could decide the final. Whoever is more successful will give his team a huge advantage.

Source: UEFA, Youtube