Three goals down, and up against the reigning European champions on their own turf. Pitching up in Spain fresh from a 1-0 defeat by Bournemouth.
On the face of it, it is hard to summon much optimism for Liverpool’s chances of progress in the Champions League as they set about trying to make amends for a 5-2 first-leg deficit to Real Madrid.
Stranger reversals have happened, though, especially at this particular venue, although most of the great comebacks the Bernabeu has witnessed featured the home side.
And several of them in the course of a rollercoaster European campaign last year that took Madrid towards the final and victory in Paris over Liverpool. “When you play against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, you feel something unique in the atmosphere,” said Antonio Rudiger, the defender who speaks with special expertise.