A week before the momentous duel with Liverpool in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Marco Asensio has, according to Marca, been sharpening his eye for goal at Valdebebas. Not included in Luis Enrique’s La Roja squad, the man from the Balearic Islands was key in earning Real Madrid’s progression to this stage with his goal against Atalanta.
Asensio is well-used to scoring decisive goals in Europe. Six of his seven Champions League goals have come in the knockout rounds, including the 2017 final in Cardiff when Madrid beat Juventus. His first goal in international competition, however, wasn’t in the Champions League but in the final of the European Super Cup against Sevilla in 2016, which Madrid won.
Asensio has, for the most part, failed to live up to his great potential in the Spanish capital. This hasn’t been helped by injury, of course, playing just one game in the Champions League last season due to enforced absences. With talismanic captain Sergio Ramos set to miss out on the Liverpool clash, however, Asensio will be needed to continue his habit of scoring big European goals as we enter the most pivotal stage of the season.
