UCL: Liverpool Mauled At Anfield By Real Madrid

Liverpool suffer a heavy 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie at Anfield. Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah both scored on the night, but two goals each for Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, as well as an Eder Militao header, have the La Liga champions in a commanding lead heading into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 15.

Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema both struck twice as Real Madrid hit back from two down to claim a sensational 5-2 victory at Liverpool in a devastating first-leg performance in their Champions League last-16 tie at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s side had initially looked up to the challenge of taking down the European champions and roared out the traps with Darwin Nunez opening the scoring courtesy of a sublime backheel flick from Mo Salah’s low pass.

The Egyptian then doubled the home side’s lead on 14 minutes when he capitalised on a howler from goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois. It was Salah’s 42nd goal for Liverpool in the competition, which saw him become the club’s all-time leading scorer in Europe.

Real had looked set to be blown away at this juncture, but soon recovered and reduced the arrears on 21 minutes when a piece of individual genius resulted in Vinicius thundering a wonderful effort into the far corner from the left side of the box.

The 22-year-old Brazilian forward then silenced Anfield 15 minutes later when he inadvertently deflected Alisson’s dreadful attempt at a pass to the right flank into an empty net.

It had been a breathless, even spectacle up to the interval but the visitors moved up a gear in the second period and ripped through the Merseysiders at will.

First, Eder Militao headed home Luka Modric’s left-wing free-kick on 47 minutes before Benzema pretty much put the tie out of sight.

The Frenchman saw his first goal deflect in off Joe Gomez and then helped himself to a double 23 minutes from time when he side-stepped Alisson to gleefully fire into an empty net following another ruthless counter attack.

The result leaves Liverpool with an absolute mountain to climb ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, March 15.

Klopp’s men will now turn their attention back to their push for a top-four spot when they visit Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. Real host Atletico in the Madrid laliga.

TALKING POINT

Real leave Kopites heartbroken once again. For 15 minutes or so it looked like Anfield was going to conjure up one of those famous nights under the lights and secure some form of revenge for the 1-0 defeat in the 2022 final of the competition.

Instead, it went from the dream start at 2-0 into a very real nightmare that will go down as more of an infamous moment in Liverpool’s history as they shipped five goals in a home European tie for the first time ever.

It’s hard to distinguish whether the European champions were that good or if it was just that the Reds were so bad in the second period, but the swagger of Los Blancos and the way they ruthlessly tore through the hosts’ high line gave credence to Carlo Ancelotti’s pre-match words, that they are probably better equipped to win the Champions League this season than they were last term.

The Spanish giants now look all-but certain to continue their quest for a 15th European crown with the blend of experience and raw, young talent rising to the surface once again when it comes to performing on the continent’s premier stage.

As for Liverpool, it’s a painful backward step after signs they were returning to some semblance of their old form in the last couple of weeks. The post-mortem won’t be pleasant with the push for the top four now the priority as any recovery from here would surely surpass the feats of Istanbul in 2005 and the memorable 4-0 second-leg turnaround against Barcelona in 2019.

Player of the match

Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid). The Real star seems to love playing against Liverpool and conjured up a moment of brilliance to get his side back in it when the hosts looked set to take a firm grip at 2-0. The Brazil international’s pace was a major threat throughout and the Merseysiders won’t look forward to coming up against him again when they reconvene in the Bernabeu for the second leg.

Player Ratings

LIVERPOOL: Alisson 5, Alexander-Arnold 6, Robertson 6, Gomez 4, Van Dijk 6, Fabinho 5, Bajcetic 6, Henderson 6, Salah 7, Gakpo 6, Nunez 7. Subs: Firmino 6, Jota 6, Milner 6, Matip 6, Elliott n/a.

REAL MADRID: Courtois 5, Carvajal 7, Militao 8, Rudiger 7, Alaba 5, Modric 9, Camavinga 8, Valverde 9, Rodrygo 8, Vinicius Jr 9, Benzema 9. Subs: Nacho 6, Ceballos n/a, Kroos n/a, Asensio n/a.

Match Highlights

4’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid. Nunez produces a sublime flick of the heel to bamboozle Courtois and apply the perfect finish to Salah’s low pass from the right.

14’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid. What a howler from Courtois. He was MOTM in the 2022 final but he has a nightmare here as the ball bobbles off the Belgian’s knee as he tries to deal with a back pass, allowing Salah to fire home the gift.

21’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 2-1 Real Madrid. What a strike that is! Vinicius Junior rifles a shot into the far corner from the left side of the area.

37’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 2-2 Real Madrid. It’s another goalkeeping gaffe! Gomez lays the ball back for Alisson who inexplicably plays a pass straight at Vinicius Jr, who knows little about it as the ball loops into the air before landing in the net.

47’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 2-3 Real Madrid. From 2-0 down to 3-2 up! The European champions hit the front at Anfield as Militao stoops to nod a free header home from Modric’s left-wing free kick.

55’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 2-4 Real Madrid. Benzema plays a slick 1-2 with Rodrygo and then gets lucky when his tame shot on the stretch hits Gomez and deceives Alisson.

67’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid. Real rip the hosts open on the break once more. Benzema is played clear by Vinicius Jr and shows real ice-cool finishing to side step Alisson and fire into the net.

Key Stats

• Salah has scored 44 goals in the UEFA Champions League, the joint-highest tally for an African player in the competition’s history (level with Didier Drogba).
• Aged 22 years and 224 days, Vinícius Júnior is the youngest visiting player to score twice against Liverpool at Anfield in major European competition since Johan Cruyff in December 1966 for Ajax in the European Cup (19y 233d).
• Benzema has scored more goals against Liverpool than any other player in European Cup/Champions League history with six, scoring four of them at Anfield, also the most by an away player in the competition.
• Salah is the first player to have both scored and assisted in as many as eight different games for an English club in UEFA Champions League history.
• Eder Militao scored his first Champions League goal since 17th April 2019. That’s 1406 days ago.
• Real Madrid are only the second team in the history of European competitions to score five goals in a single match against Liverpool, after Ajax in December 1966 in the European Cup (5-1).
• Liverpool are the first team in UEFA Champions League history to take a 2-0 lead but then lose the game by a three-goal margin.