Liverpool hopes of a remarkable Champions League comeback ended in another disappointing defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday. Karim Benzema - who now has seven goals in eight games against the - netted the winner 11 minutes from time. The result means side now have only a Premier League top-four place to play for between now and the end of the season. But there was plenty that went unnoticed or under the radar during the 90 minutes at the Bernabeu building site.
A Champions League knockout game between two of Europe's most successful clubs was always going to attract some big names. And former Real Madrid man Michael Laudrup - a one-time Liverpool target in the 1980s - was among several ex-players in the press area very, very high in the Bernabeu stands. As everyone is painfully aware, the Real Madrid stadium has been undergoing renovation for what has seemed an eternity.