Liverpool finished matchday five top of the Champions League standings by ending their long wait for a win over Real Madrid, securing a 2-0 victory over the Spanish giants at Anfield.
Alexis Mac Allister rewarded the Reds’ dominance as he fired home early in the second half, before Kylian Mbappe fluffed a rare chance for the visitors in failing to beat Caoimhin Kelleher from the spot.
Mohamed Salah then missed a penalty of his own, 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 – at the ninth attempt – and 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 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 stop 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, 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.
Check out the player ratings for Liverpool vs Real Madrid here.
If Kylian Mbappe is to quieten suggestions that his arrival has somehow weakened this Real Madrid team, then he is going to have do a lot better than this on crucial Champions League nights.
A return to the left wing was supposed to help the Frenchman, but he combined missing the visitors’ biggest chance from the penalty spot with spending the evening in Conor Bradley’s pocket.
Real have every right to expect more from their latest Galactico addition, who cut a frustrated figure throughout his visit to Anfield.
Okay, so that one might tongue in cheek, but there is no denying that Caoimhin Kelleher has been utterly outstanding in place of Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper this season.
The Reds’ dominance meant he had very little to do in this one but, when called upon in a huge moment of the game that could have swung things in Madrid’s favour, he delivered.
And don’t forget, that is two penalty saves on the bounce after one against Southampton which, rather unfortunately, bounced back into Adam Armstrong’s path.
It is easily forgotten that Liverpool were top of the Premier League heading into April last season before a ludicrous injury crisis finally took its toll.
As such, they know better than most teams that getting a little bit of good fortune in terms of keeping your players fit is just as important as how good you are.
With that in mind, there will be some concern of the apparent hamstring and knee injuries sustained by Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate respectively here.
With Manchester City fast approaching, Arne Slot will be praying for good news on both.
