Former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard believes his former side must make the replacement of Jordan Henderson and James Milner their priority this summer. according to Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s lack of goal-scoring midfielder was one of the reasons they lost against Real Madrid.
Liverpool who had dominated the entire first but failed to convert their chances and were also downed by the brilliance of Thibaut Courtois.
Thibaut Courtois was the hero of the night and Liverpool could have overturned the result after Vinicius Junior has given Real Madrid the lead in the second half.
However, Steven Gerard who was at the Stade de France believes if his side had a better goal-scoring midfielder, they could beat Real Madrid.
What did Gerrard say?
Speaking on BT Sports after the game He said: “Jordan and James Milner are not getting any younger.
“They’re still top players at this level, of course, and they’ll want to go on and do more.
“But for Liverpool, if you think about the next five, six, seven years, they’re going to need a midfielder, an eight, who can get goals, who can get double figures.
“They are heavily reliant on the front three – or the front five if you include Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino.
“But you always need one of those midfielders that are going to get in the box and get you goals.”
Liverpool is expected to be busy in the transfer market after signing Fabio Carvalho from Fulham and is also reported to have agreed on personal terms with Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchameni. The Reds are also eyeing a move for Dortmund and England Midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand have heaped praises on Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after Champions League finals Heroics.
The Aston Villa coach said: “He deserved the Man of the Match award.
“He faced nine shots today and the second one from Sadio Mane is world-class, the last one from Salah is even better.
“To get that strong an arm on it and push it wide was phenomenal. The Salah save… wow.”
Rio Ferdinand said: “With a couple of the saves, it was almost as if you had to look at each other in disbelief and go, “wow, how has he done that?”.
“He looked like a man possessed in that goal. Mo Salah couldn’t do anymore, it’s just fantastic goalkeeping from Courtois. He was phenomenal tonight.”
Former Liverpool forward Michael Owen also seems to agree with England teammates and also singled out the Belgium international for praise.
He added: “Two saves spring to mind for me. There was one he flicked onto the post from Mane and another one from Mo Salah.
“The first one is an unbelievable save. He walked past us just now and the size of the man… he’s huge and when he can get down that quick as well… you’re one of the world’s best.”
Thibaut Courtois has been sensational this season for Real Madrid both in the Spanish La Liga and the Champions League. He made 55 saves this season in the Champions League.
