Liverpool beat Real Madrid for the first time in nine attempts in an epic Anfield Champions League battle that included missed penalties from superstars Kylian Mbappe and Mo Salah.
Liverpool were by far the better team throughout, playing with the irresistible energy that has seen them surge eight points clear in the Premier League. They’re also the only team with a perfect record through five games of the Champions League first phase.
A new era of the UEFA Champions League is here, only on Stan Sport.
Alexis Mac Allister scored the first goal on 52 minutes for a well-deserved lead but Madrid should have equalised when Andy Robertson conceded a soft penalty and Mbappe stepped up for the spot kick.
The French star has had a poor start to life in Madrid after his move from Paris Saint-Germain and he looked bereft of confidence as his stepped up, to be denied by keeper Caoimhín Kelleher. Mbappe dropped a stinker, to the delight of an Anfield crowd that jeered most of his touches.
Salah could have extended the lead when he won a penalty with a weaving run from the right into the box but blasted his penalty wide off the post.
Liverpool didn’t have to wait long to make amends as Cody Gakpo rose to head home after a corner routine.
Liverpool could have added extra gloss at the end only to be denied by Thibaut Courtois, who was busy and excellent in the Madrid goal.
It was another triumph in a season that’s promising so much for manager Arne Slot, who has 16 wins in his 18 games. His predecessor Jurgen Klopp was never able to better Real Madrid – with the last Liverpool success coming in the 2008-09 season.
The defeat was Carlo Ancelotti’s team’s third from their five games and the champions are in peril of missing the knockout stages. The team has struggled with injuries, and their two wins came via the genius of missing winger Vini Junior.
“Absolutely fantastic, congratulations to all the players and their manager,” said former Premier League star and Socceroo Mark Bosnich on Stan Sport.
“From the outset of that second half, there were times when they were penning in Madrid in the corner, it was like when you watch under-sixes. That’s what they did to them, and they were absolutely awesome, and fully deserved it.
“If it wasn’t for Courtois, even though I think he should have come in and got that cross [for Gakpo’s goal], it could have been three or four. Superb.”
Craig Foster was also purring in the wake of Liverpool’s “statement” win.
“Even in the first half, although it was a bit more balanced, they still had the best of the chances, but second half was quite magnificent,” Foster said on Stan Sport.
“It was noticeable right from the start of the second half, a lot of switch passes straight out to Salah, and forward passes, opening the game up, get at them as quickly as possible, but their pressing was just much more effective.
“For the first time in the game, we saw Real Madrid in their back third, playing a lot of passes, very, very brave, but not able to get out of their half, and that first goal came from four or five minutes of transitions, keeping them in that position.
“Amazing performance from Liverpool, and this is actually a statement win. Although Vini Jr and Rodrygo are not there, they’re still a very, very good team, and this was the first, I think, really big test in this season’s Champions League for Liverpool, and they have answered it emphatically.
Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Juventus after having an injury-time goal ruled out, and Celtic drew 1-1 with Club Brugge after conceding an all-time horror own goal.
Villa’s Morgan Rogers thought he had won the game late for Villa but VAR ruled it out for a foul by Diego Carlos on the Juventus goalkeeper.
Monaco missed a chance to go second in the table behind Liverpool, giving up a lead playing with 10 men from the 58th minute in a 3-2 loss at home to Benfica. Swiss forward Zeki Amdouni scored the winning goal in the 88th.
Borussia Dortmund, the beaten finalists against Madrid in May, are up to fourth place after beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0. Champions League standout Jamie Gittens now has four goals in five games, curling a rising shot in the 41st to open the scoring.
The best comeback was at PSV Eindhoven, where the home team trailed Shakhtar Donetsk by two goals in the 87th minute before a 3-2 win was sealed by United States forward Ricardo Pepi’s goal deep in stoppage time.
Congo teammates Ngal’Ayel Mukau and Silas impressed in wins for Lille and Red Star Belgrade.
Mukau scored twice in 12th-place Lille’s 2-1 win at Bologna and Silas levelled for Red Star in a 5-1 rout of Stuttgart, though he barely celebrated his goal. Silas is on loan with the Serbian champion from Stuttgart.
Post a Comment