If Liverpool are going to pull off an unlikely but famous victory in the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night, then one ex-Red has stated who he feels needs to start the Champions League round of 16 second-leg tie.
Jose Enrique took to his official Instagram account to give his thoughts on the match, even going as far as to suggest that the Reds could take the game 3-0 over 90 minutes and force a win either in extra-time or on penalties.
It’s certainly a positive way of looking at the tie which already seems dead and buried from a Liverpool point of view.
Intriguingly, the former defender has also opted for a surprise in the Reds starting line-up.
With the front three of Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah taking the front three places, Enrique has suggested placing Roberto Firmino, a £29m signing back in 2015 according to BBC Sport, as an auxiliary attacker player slightly ahead of James Milner and Fabinho in midfield.
Jurgen Klopp is afforded such an option due to the illness of captain Jordan Henderson and the Stefan Bacjectic’s adductor injury, per The Athletic (subscription required).
For a team that has to go for an all-out attacking performance, regardless of how open it will leave them in defence, playing a creative, industrious, technically gifted and intelligent player such as Firmino isn’t the worst shout in the world.
What has Klopp got to lose…