Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid: Reds maintain perfect Champions League start
Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid: Reds maintain perfect Champions League start. Arne Slot and his Liverpool side continued and maintained their perfect and 💯 record as they finished matchday five top of the Champions League standings, by ending their long wait for a win over Real Madrid, after securing a 2-0 victory over the Spanish giants at Anfield.
It was Alexis Mac Allister who rewarded the Reds’ dominance as he fired home early in the second half, before Kylian Mbappe fluffed a rare chance for the visitors to go level, after he failed to beat Caoimhin Kelleher from the spot.
Mohamed Salah then followed suit and missed a penalty of his own as well, but that setback was quickly forgotten as Cody Gakpo headed home to seal the points.
That secured Liverpool’s first win over Real since 2009 and at the ninth attempt and also ensured Carlo Ancelotti‘s men face a struggle to qualify for the next round having lost three of their five games.
How the game unfolded:
Liverpool started the brighter of the two teams, with Darwin Nunez almost forcing junior defender Raul Asencio to put the ball into his own net after shooting from a tight angle with just four minutes gone.
But Madrid responded smartly, quietening the Anfield crowd with patient possession and winning free-kicks to slow the game down. And proceedings continued in that fashion until a crunching Conor Bradley tackle to deny Mbappe once again ignited the home support.
That appeared to give Liverpool momentum, and they went close twice in quick succession with Nunez nodding wide and Luis Diaz forcing a save from Thibaut Courtois, both from Alexis Mac Allister dinks. But, while Liverpool failed to find the breakthrough before half-time, they picked up where they left off following the restart.
After Bradley had seen a close-range header saved brilliantly, he played a one-two with Mac Allister that ended with the Argentine firing a shot into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
Liverpool almost shot themselves in the foot immediately after, with Andy Robertson clumsily catching Lucas Vazquez in the box to give Real a chance to get back into a game that had seemed to be slipping away from them.
However, Kelleher was equal to Mbappe’s penalty, diving down to his left to palm the ball clear and spark scenes of jubilation in the stands.
An enthralling second half continued to deliver drama from there, with Mohamed Salah twisting Ferland Mendy inside out to win a penalty of his own soon after. But the Egyptian blasted his spot-kick wide, clipping the outside of the post, to keep Real’s hopes alive.
Fortunately for Salah, worries that he might have cost the Reds were quickly settled, with Gakpo heading home Robertson’s inswinging cross to all but end the game as a contest with 13 minutes of normal time remaining.
