Rio Ferdinand lauds Real Madrid after their stunning Champions League win over Liverpool

Rio Ferdinand has praised Real Madrid following their shock Champions League round of 16 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have all but secured a place in the quarter-finals with an impressive 5-2 win over the Reds, having been 2-0 down.

And Ferdinand compared the trajectory of the two teams, insisting that Real are on their way with the number of young players in their squad.

The former Manchester United defender said: “Tonight the clear difference in class was shown. You have a team on one side that looks like they are going down, compared to another team that looks like they are still going up and improving.

“You look at his team from last year and you think it’s another year older, Benzema, Kroos, Modric, it’s going to be tough, they’ve lost Casemiro.

Real Madrid have one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals after beating Liverpool

Rio Ferdinand believes that the LaLiga team is on its way with the young players in its squad

Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr scored a brace each in impressive win at Anfield

‘The recruitment in the last years of the Galactic era to bring in and develop young players, like Vinicius, Rodrygo, Camavinga. These players are now seen as proper players in the Champions League.

‘They have developed over time. The patience of that, added to a team that keeps winning. You have to support the people behind the scenes who are running that ship.’

Ferdinand believes a lack of confidence was the cause of Liverpool’s downfall even though they won both of their games before Tuesday’s loss.

“This is a team that has lacked confidence all season. They have had good results in the last two matches,’ he added.

“But you see the weaknesses as soon as they go behind, with the lack of confidence from a period of time coming to the fore. It’s hard to build trust overnight. It comes with five, six, seven eight games.

Ferdinand believes a lack of confidence was the cause of Liverpool’s slump on Tuesday

Liverpool got off to a great start and scored twice through Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah, before a brace from Vinicius Jr, the second of which came when Alisson’s pass attempt struck him past the keeper. into the net, Real Madrid equalized at half-time. .

The second half belonged to the visitors as Eder Militao put them ahead before Karim Benzema’s brace brought the reigning champions closer to the brink of the quarter-finals.

Liverpool will be looking to make an unlikely comeback when they visit the Bernabeu for the second leg on March 15.