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Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid: Champions League Match report, player ratings, expert analysis, fan reaction and more

A pair of braces by Karim Benzema and Vinícius Júnior led Real Madrid to a historic European night at Anfield that saw the reigning champions put one foot in the door on their way to a likely place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League

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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.

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.

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.

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

Expert Takes & Social Media

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Andrew Thompson

US-based Football writer. German football guru with a wealth of experience in youth development and analysis. Data aficionado. Happily championing the notion that Americans have a knowledgeable voice in the beautiful game.

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