Real Madrid Vs Liverpool: A Crucial Early 15 Minutes

Real Madrid will host Liverpool at the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg of the Champions League last 16. (Photo: Twitter/@realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid are in the wind ahead of the second leg of the Champions League last 16 against Liverpool, Thursday, March 16 in the morning WIB. The 5-2 victory in the first leg at home to Liverpool is a huge asset.

Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger said his team had to survive better than their performance at Anfield. He considered, 15 minutes early was very crucial.

"Don't fall asleep in the first 15 minutes, I think it's very important, also finding the right balance," Rudiger was quoted as saying by AFP via Antara.

He added that it was very important for Los Blancos to play loose and not focus too much on defending. Apart from being fatal, the Madrid players are also required to provide an interesting spectacle for their supporters.

"This is very important for us, not only to come and defend and say 'OK, we have a three-goal advantage'. We also have to satisfy the support and restore our confidence," concluded Rudiger.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti also ensured his team would play openly and attack. It seems that there is no total defense in the Italian coach's dictionary.

Ancelotti emphasized that it would be better to play attacking than to do calculations and be careful to maintain the aggregate advantage.

"It's quite simple, we don't need to make calculations. Instead we try to play as well as possible, trying to play the game as we did in the first leg," said Ancelotti.

Despite having a three-goal advantage on aggregate, Ancelotti said his team should focus on winning the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu to win tickets to the quarter-finals.

"Our goal is not to make calculations. We have to play with maximum intensity, with maximum expectations, try to win the game," said Ancelotti.

The former AC Milan and Chelsea coach believes the second match will feature an open game as Liverpool need to win big. Meanwhile, Ancelotti's team did not want to play defensively.

"We saw what we did in the first leg. We also did a lot, especially in attack. We won't play thinking about excellence, we play our football, attacking football," said Ancelotti.

"Later it will be an open match, Liverpool will try and change the dynamics of the game. So we also have to do two things, defend and attack," he added.