While the highlights of Liverpool’s domination of Real Madrid may suggest a roaring atmosphere throughout, it really took the initiative of their backup right-back to get the fans going.
Unlike any of the previous eight unsuccessful meetings since their 4-0 thrashing of Real in 2009, there was a slight feeling of indifference heading into Wednesday night.
While clashes between Liverpool and Real Madrid will always be blockbuster in their nature, the Reds’ perfect start to the expanded Champions League format meant there was considerably less riding on this latest instalment of a continental rivalry.
Still, expectations were high around Anfield ahead of kickoff, with a booming rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone even lent backing vocals by the travelling fans in white and the noise swirling around the stands as action got underway.
As is often the case, though, expecting those 50,000-plus home fans to keep that up throughout the full 90 minutes was unrealistic.
After that initial flurry of chances subsided – with Darwin Nunez the headline act early on, including an effort almost diverted over the line by young centre-back Raul Asencio – the tie settled into a familiar pattern.
Many will argue that a high-profile Champions League clash between Liverpool and Real Madrid should always provoke an atmosphere to match, regardless of the stakes for the hosts themselves, but is perhaps easier said than done.
“I think we as a team, and as players, have to be aware of the fact that fans need something to get behind the team, and I don’t think we did this enough,” Arne Slot admitted after questions over the Anfield atmosphere earlier in the season.
“The only thing I can ask the fans is if we don’t show up enough, maybe they can help us and say, ‘OK, it looks like it’s not their day, let’s help them by singing, cheering’, or whatever they can come up with.
“But I like to look at ourselves, we have to do better, and if we do better, I think the fans will enjoy what they see, and then they will be behind the team.”
In short, the head coach quickly understood that, for his side to benefit from their stadium’s world-renowned atmosphere, it had to be reciprocal.
During the early weeks of Slot’s reign there were concerns that the style of play employed by Jurgen Klopp‘s successor was not enough to inspire those within the stands – but that has quickly proved unfounded.
Nevertheless on nights like Wednesday, particularly as the cold winter months set in, the fans needed a spark to get them going again.
Up stepped Conor Bradley, a 21-year-old making his first-ever start in the Champions League and, in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, doing so up against a player with the reputation of Kylian Mbappe.
Sure, Mbappe has been far from his best since a ‘free’ transfer to Real Madrid over the summer, but he had still scored seven goals in his last nine LaLiga games and, restored to his natural position on the left wing, looked more like himself in a 3-0 weekend win over Leganes.
So when the Frenchman was sent through with just over half an hour played and the score still at 0-0, many inside the ground and watching on at home will have feared the worst.
For all the data in the game, you will never be able to quantify how big an impact a moment like this has.
Anfield was silent before this and then it ignited.
Conor Bradley has a knack for it. Could watch this over and over and never get tired of it. pic.twitter.com/IbvoqZBogA
— Jack Lusby (@LusbyJack) November 28, 2024
Mbappe had easily outpaced the backtracking Alexis Mac Allister and with Arda Guler peeling off the shoulder of Andy Robertson into the penalty area, there would have been two clear options in front of goal for the No. 9.
Only there was Bradley, the Northern Irishman signed from Dungannon Swifts, to make a lightning-fast recovery and deny Mbappe with a stunning sliding challenge.
The roar within Anfield was immediate and deafening; those 50,000-plus fans had recognised that this was a significant moment. Even with an hour left to play, their backup right-back had conquered the so-called ‘best player in the world’.
From there, it was as if Anfield was restored to its factory settings: that famous atmosphere restored, with the fans given a reason to get behind the team.
It is only natural that this gave the players the boost they needed, too, even if their opener didn’t come until the second half when, inspired by Bradley’s shift to a more advanced role as Mbappe fell flat as Real’s outlet, Alexis Mac Allister fired into the bottom corner.
The quality of Bradley’s display has quietly opened the conversation over whether Liverpool would truly miss their first-choice right-back as much as they perhaps feared if Real do succeed in luring Alexander-Arnold to Madrid.
Those within the club’s recruitment staff will already be well prepared for the possibility of the Reds’ vice-captain departing on the expiry of his contract, with the data team drawing up shortlists of targets capable of replacing one of the world’s best.
But even before he assisted one and almost scored another in front of the Kop, Bradley gave Liverpool something that can never translate to a spreadsheet.
In shackling Mbappe with that inch-perfect tackle, he reignited Anfield – and the importance of such moments cannot be undersold.
