It has now been over 15 years since Liverpool last beat Real Madrid. The Reds once boasted an 100% winning record against the La Liga giants, emerging victorious in their first three official meetings – including the 1981 European Cup final.
But Real Madrid have very much been Liverpool’s white whale in recent years, defeating them in two Champions League finals, knocking them out of Europe on two further occasions and winning seven of their eight meetings since the Reds last tasted victory back in 2009
Liverpool have scored just four goals over those last eight meetings – remarkably the same total they managed in just 90 minutes the last time they overcame the Galacticos.
Clinching an emphatic 4-0 victory over Juande Ramos’ side in March 2009, it remains one of Anfield’s most iconic modern European nights. And former Reds star Ryan Babel played a vital role the last time Liverpool got the better of their Spanish counterparts.
It was the Dutchman who left Sergio Ramos for dead before beating both the Spaniard and Pepe with a pinpoint cross for Steven Gerrard to volley home. Having also come on as a substitute when the Reds won 1-0 at the Bernabeu in the first leg, unsurprisingly such victories prove to be some of the 37-year-old’s happiest Liverpool memories.
“Absolutely amazing memories,” he admits in an exclusive interview with this . “We dominated and were really, really good
We were actually the better team and we deserved to win the way we did. So again, it doesn’t happen too often against Madrid. So that’s why I think definitely it’s an historical game.
You know, at the end it was not even an easy ball to take for Stevie. So, you know, he made my assist definitely look great! It was with a little bounce. But again, you know, it’s Steven Gerrard, so I’m not surprised.
“Yeah, it was an amazing feeling, you know, Anfield exploding and of course, one of my great memories of being a Liverpool player.”
He continued: “Rafa (Benitez)’s ability to tactically dissect the opponent was very good. So he understood where the weaknesses often were. And we would, the whole week, train how to take advantage of those weaknesses and I think that was Rafa’s strength.
It was the same with Real Madrid. We had the advantage, of course, having first won 1-0 at the Bernabeu. And we knew at home that they had to come to Anfield. And we were definitely anticipating those moments.”
History has perhaps been harsh to both Liverpool and Real Madrid when it reflects on the Reds’ dominant victory. It has been taken with a pinch of salt, with it perceived that Ramos’ side were not the Spanish giants at their invincible best. In 2009, it had been seven years since they had last been crowned champions of Europe, after all.
But they were still reigning La Liga champions, and came to Anfield with a side littered with global superstars. You don’t sniff at a starting XI that contains all of Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Fabio Cannavaro, Wesley Sneijder, Raul and Arjen Robben.
But Liverpool demolished them, despite Sneijder confidently telling Babel otherwise when the pair were away on international weeks prior to the Champions League quarter-final clash.
“What do I remember? I think it was a time where Madrid had a lot of Dutch players,” he recalled. “So that’s of course, some of the alignments that I had in common with a lot of familiar players that were playing at Real Madrid.
I remember very well prior to that game we had an international break and Wesley (Sneijder) was pretty arrogant saying like, you know, ‘Next week we’re going to beat you guys.’
And I was like, ’I don’t think so.’ So yeah, it was good memories. And eventually when you win against Madrid, of course, it is massive.
“I think what we can conclude is that they weren’t really a team. But if you just dissect the players, it was still Real Madrid with the best players from all over the world.
“I think that would be unfair to say it was a poor Real Madrid side. I mean, they had Pepe at his peak of his career. They had Sergio Ramos at the peak of his career. They had Casillas at the peak of his career
So yeah I think I think we have to give credit to Liverpool for how we were able to play.”
Babel’s Liverpool career was littered with inconsistency, but he often saved his best for the Champions League. When supporters recall his best moments for the Reds, such as his assist against Real Madrid, they are often from European encounters.
From his 22 goals for the club, seven came in the Champions League with nine in Europe altogether. It’s a similar story for his assists, setting up five of his 15 assists in continental competition.
