Manchester United icon Gary Neville does not rate Liverpool FC’s chances of securing a much-needed win against Real Madrid in the return leg at Anfield later this week.
Jurgen Klopp’s side goes up once again against the La Liga giants on Wednesday night after being handed a 3-1 drubbing the last time around in Spain following which the Merseysiders picked up crucial three points during the win over Aston Villa in top-flight action.
Despite the much-improved showing put on display by the defending champions of England, Sky Sports pundit Neville believes that Liverpool FC have a huge task cut out in the form of upstaging Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid outfit to book their place in the last four of the UEFA Champions League.
“It was a massive result for Liverpool [against Villa], they couldn’t afford really to lose,” he said on the Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.
“It’s really important that Liverpool get into the top four.
“They won the title last season and have had an exceptional three years. Now that they’ve got the chance to get into that top four you couldn’t say it’s a priority over the Champions League.
“But the reality of it is that from where they’ve been – and they’ve had some difficult moments in these last few months – that [top four] would be a good result at the end of this season for Liverpool. I think that [beating Villa] was a big moment for them.
“They were really poor in Madrid in midweek and they’ve given themselves a lot to do. And I’m not sure they have got it in them to do it because at Anfield they’ve not been great.
