The Athletic FC.

Welcome to the Athletic FC podcast for me, Iyo Akim Wolera.

Anfield roared and booed as Liverpool emphatically beat Real Madrid in the Champions League.

So could this reignite Liverpool season?

In with us today we have James Pierce.

We've also got Thomas Hill Lopez Manchero in the studio as well.

James 1-0 scoreline, but, you know, watching that match,

I don't think 1-0 reflected the intensity of Liverpool.

You know, was it exactly what they needed after what, I guess some might describe it as a tough

couple of weeks?

Yeah, it's been an absolutely torrid period for them, isn't it?

When you think, you know, four straight Premier League defeats, and you had that kind of

chasing in Caravelle Cup exit as well, and all the kind of noise and negativity around,

you know, had Slot done the right thing by leaving out, you know, pretty much all his big hitters and how, if anything,

it really cranked up the pressure ahead of such a big week, you know, Villa, Real Madrid,

Man City. But, yeah, he's got exactly the kind of response he wanted. You know, I think it felt like a big step forward against Villa on the weekend,

you know, stopped the rot, look much more secured.

But, yeah, that performance against Real Madrid,

I don't think anyone could really hand on heart say they saw that coming

because that was by far in a way Liverpool's most complete performance,

probably since they thrashed Tottenham to secure the Premier League title in April, because they

just haven't got close to those levels since. And, you know, impossession, real fluency to them,

...