Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool received another lesson on a European night thanks to Spanish giants Real Madrid after the Champions League holders turned up at Anfield and dispatched the perennial Premier League title challengers by a 5-2 scoreline in front of a stunned Anfield.
The Reds got off to a flying start just over three minutes after kick-off when Uruguayan star Darwin Núñez’s diagonal run into the box was spotted by Mohamed Salah who threaded his pass to the top of the six-yard box before his audacious first-time backheel left Thibaut Courtois rooted to give Liverpool massive 1-0 lead.
Mohamed Salah doubled the lead after fourteen minutes on a night at Anfield where Liverpool was out for revenge seemed to have already written the storyline before a ball was kicked then Eduardo Camavinga gave possession away at the halfway line, only for Courtois to slip after chesting down a back pass before Salah pounced on the Belgian’s error to slam home his 42nd goal in Europe, becoming the club’s record goalscorer on the continent.
Our Egyptian king. Our European king 👑
Simply incredible, @MoSalah ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aaYGMOknIZ
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 21, 2023
Real Madrid cut the deficit in half just six minutes later when Brazilian wonderkid Vinícius Júnior received the ball from Karim Benzema near the left-hand corner just inside the 18-yard-box before dancing into space in between three defenders and ultimately dispatching a rifled effort bending past compatriot Alisson and into the far post.
Another goalkeeper error, this time at the other end by Alisson, would see Viní Júnior pull Madrid back level at two-a-piece after the talented winger forced Joe Gomez to play back to Alisson when under pressure only for the Brazilian number one to hit his clearance off his countryman and could only watch the redirect loop over his head and into the back of the net.
The pedigree of the Champions League holders rose to the surface just after the half-time interval when Éder Militão headed home from just five yards out after a whipped-in delivery from Luka Modrić found the Brazilian free to dispatch an unstoppable effort to give the Spanish champions a dramatic early second-half lead.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Spanish giants put the match to bed in the 77th minute when they hit Liverpool with a brilliant counter-attack that was orchestrated by Luka Modrić who broke forward before finding Viní Júnior down the left channel who would square to Benzema who first rounded a sprawling Alisson before slamming home his brace on the night.
It was just the third time in 70 years that Liverpool has conceded five goals at Anfield, and the first time they have conceded 4 goals or more in a European home tie, compounding the frustration among the fanbase after the Reds had blitzed to an early 2-0 lead.
The match would end by the same 5-2 scoreline after Benzema confirmed his brace, with Real surely booking passage into the quarterfinals of the competition while yet another inquest looks set to occur after Liverpool suffered an embarrassing defeat to compound an already massively underwhelming 2022-23 Premier League campaign.
📰 Table Of Contents
Liverpool Player Ratings
- GK: Alisson – 4
- RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6
- CB: Joe Gomez – 5
- CB: Virgil van Dijk – 5.5
- LB: Andy Robertson – 6
- DM: Fabinho – 6
- CM: Jordan Henderson – 6
- CM: Stefan Bajčetić – 6
- RW: Mohamed Salah – 8
- LW: Darwin Núñez – 7
- CF: Cody Gakpo – 6.5
- Sub: Roberto Firmino – 6.5
- Sub: Diogo Jota – 6
- Sub: James Milner – 6
- Sub: Joel Matip – 6
- Sub: Harvey Elliot – 6
Real Madrid Player Ratings
- GK: Thibaut Courtois – 5
- RB: Dani Carvajal – 6.5
- CB: Éder Militão – 7.5
- CB: Antonio Rüdiger – 6.5
- LB: David Alaba – 6
- DM: Eduardo Camavinga – 7
- CM: Federico Valverde – 7
- CM: Luka Modrić – 8
- RW: Rodrygo – 8
- LW: Vinícius Júnior – 9
- CF: Karim Benzema – 9
- Sub: Nacho – 7.5
- Sub: Dani Ceballos – 6
- Sub: Marco Asensio – 6
- Sub: Toni Kroos – 6
Key Performers
Vinícius Júnior’s game by numbers vs Liverpool:
63 touches
7 duels won (most)
4 dribbles completed
3 fouls won
2 shots
2 goals
1 chance created
1 assist
0.4 xGSo good. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Yjgr9pVDpS
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 21, 2023
Karim Benzema’s game by numbers vs Liverpool:
91.2% passing accuracy
42 touches
2 chances created
2 shots
2 goals
1 assist
0.73 xGBack in the starting XI with a bang. 💥 pic.twitter.com/WV23Uv2iIl
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 21, 2023
Expert Takes & Social Media
Carlo Ancelotti’s record against Liverpool in European competition:
◉ Matches played: 9
◉ Won: 6
◉ Drawn: 1
◉ Lost: 2Three have those games have come in the #UCL Final. 🏆
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) February 21, 2023
Joel Matip warns Real Madrid they are out for revenge tonight #LFC #UCL
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 21, 2023
Jurgen Klopp was keen to back Vinicius Jr ahead of this evening’s first leg. pic.twitter.com/hEtRYfHspg
— Football España (@footballespana_) February 21, 2023
🥅 Only Kylian Mbappe (10) has registered more goal contributions than Mohamed Salah (8) in the Champions League this season
📋 Click below for the Liverpool vs Real Madrid Full Match Preview 👇
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 21, 2023
“Liverpool have had a stop-start season before and it’s hit them hard this season”
“They seem to be coming out of it and this is another big challenge for them tonight”@petercrouch shares his thoughts as Liverpool look to continue to build momentum ✨#UCL | 🎙️ @julesbreach pic.twitter.com/gOjLZCDPCg
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 21, 2023
Goal!
What a start! @Darwinn99 comes up with a deft flick to fire Liverpool into the lead!#beINUCL #LIVRMA #UCL pic.twitter.com/e0DuxHqK7B
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) February 21, 2023
Mo Salah scored from this… #LIVRMA pic.twitter.com/e025wzx2ap
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 21, 2023
Mo Salah scored from this… #LIVRMA pic.twitter.com/e025wzx2ap
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 21, 2023
ALISSON 😳
THIS. GAME.
🎥 @TUDNUSApic.twitter.com/C1P1VAyejM
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 21, 2023
Vinícius Júnior is the first player in European Cup & Champions League history to score 5 goals against Liverpool.
He’s only 22 years old 😱 pic.twitter.com/iCzxbcyf9g
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 21, 2023
From 2-0 down to 3-2 up. Eder Militao completes the comeback for Real Madrid against Liverpool ⚽ #3Sports #UCL pic.twitter.com/r9Shqf4coD
— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) February 21, 2023
Klopp has a decision to make about Gomez. He cannot handle Vinicius Jr and might get sent off before being subbed off
— James Robson (@jamesalanrobson) February 21, 2023
Karim Benzema has now scored 340 goals for Real Madrid. Only Cristian Ronaldo (450) has scored more for Los Blancos.
Club legend. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/v5iDXnySxq
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 21, 2023
🗣️ “This is a football lesson!” 📚
Real Madrid are 4-2 up against Liverpool! What a comeback 👏 pic.twitter.com/Tx8pNW3q3h
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 21, 2023
Ancelotti’s half time team talk pic.twitter.com/umRQ7l8IyM
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) February 21, 2023
Liverpool have conceded 5 goals to Real Madrid. This is the first time Liverpool have conceded 5 goals at Anfield in the Champions League / European Cup.
Crumbling. 📉 pic.twitter.com/TcRqU4l8ox
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 21, 2023
Luka Modric and Karim Benzema were loving it after their historic win at Anfield 😬 pic.twitter.com/WlcvheZ64g
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 21, 2023
5 – This has been Real Madrid’s second Champions League game with the highest difference (+3.34) between their goals (5) and expected goals (1.66) since 2013/14 (+3.38 vs Viktoria Plzen in November 2018). Punch. pic.twitter.com/up490er8V9
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 21, 2023
Like sprinters in a marathon. Flashes of the past early on, couldn’t sustain it. To beat Real Madrid you’ve to be at your best, all the time. Real Madrid are composed and cool no matter what the score is. Their equaliser seemed to take the belief out of us that we could win.
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) February 21, 2023
