Liverpool suffered a shock 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid at Anfield on Tuesday as the world witnessed perhaps the beginning of the end of the Jurgen Klopp era as the Reds were all but officially knocked out in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
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From 2-0 up after 15 minutes, to 5-2 down just 52 minutes later, Liverpool could do nothing to arrest stop the same Real Madrid that beat them 1-0 in last season’s UCL final.
Klopp and Co. couldn’t have started quicker or brighter, with Darwin Núñez coming up on the end of Mohamed Salah’s cross and firing a brilliant backheel past Thibaut Courtois in the 4th minute. A sleepy back turned into a nightmare as the ball bounced off Courtois’s knee and landed on Salah at the top of the six-yard box and the Anfield faithful roared to life once more.
The good times came to an abrupt end, however, when Vinicius Junior cut in from the left flank and slotted a perfect shot inside the far post to make it 2-1 after 21 minutes. 15 minutes later, it was Alisson’s turn to give away a goal as Joe Gomez passed him the ball and instead of kicking it clear, he played it off Vinicius’s leg and watched helplessly as it spun and spun high into the Merseyside sky and bounced back. in a vacuum. goal.
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goal no. 3 came two minutes into the second half with Eder Militao running through the box unmarked and heading in Luka Modric’s free kick to take the lead. Karim Benzema got involved with his opening goal on 55 minutes, playing a quick one-two with Rodrygo before his shot bounced off Joe Gomez and past a distraught and wrong-footed Alisson to make it 4-2. .
Benzema’s second goal was much more brilliant with Luka Modric starting the counter-attack finding Vinicius, who passed the ball to Benzema as Alisson ran off his line. Benzema sat the Brazilian on his back as he circled the goalkeeper and shot with his left foot past two defenders at the near post. Complete demolition.
Whats Next?
Liverpool will head to the Spanish capital for the second leg in three weeks’ time on March 15, where they could try to reverse a three-goal deficit, or Klopp, assuming he’s still in charge, could opt to field a weakened team. as they chase a top four finish in the Premier League.
How to watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid live, streaming link, start time
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 21 at 3 pm ET Statistics: Via the scoreboard on NBCSports.com Online: Live Watchalong and ProSoccerTalk Updates on NBCSports YouTube how to look: TUDN, Paramount+
This is brutal from Real Madrid. Liverpool is everywhere. Anfield is stunned.
GOALL! Real Madrid-Liverpool 5-2. Modric leads the counterattack and finds Vinicius, who finds Benzema and does so brilliantly to cut inside Alisson and curl up at home. Liverpool won 2-0. Jurgen Klopp can’t believe it.
GOALL! Real Madrid-Liverpool 4-2. Gentle shot from Benzema that Gómez deflects and enters. How cruel to Liverpool. Everything is going wrong for them right now. Jurgen Klopp can’t believe it.
GOALL! Real Madrid-Liverpool 3-2. That. A. Change of course. Modric’s free kick that goes straight to Militao and finishes off with a header from six meters. Terrible marking of Liverpool. Zonal marking has gone wrong.
NEAR! Wow. Real Madrid almost made it 3-2 at halftime. What a clearance from Andy Robertson when Rodrygo was ready to touch the back post. Great ball from Vinicius Jr and what a counterattack from Real. 10 seconds after Liverpool scored a free kick at one end, he almost went ahead at the other.
GOLLLL! What a mistake by Alisson. Gómez returns the ball to him and Vinicius stops him and Alisson hits the ball and rolls up and enters. Liverpool 2-2 Real Madrid. 26 minutes on the clock. What a change! Wow.
KEEP! So close to an almost identical goal for Vini Jr. Alisson saves this time his low shot at the far post. How did he see that gap!?
APPROPRIATE! Salah and Núñez were about to tie, but somehow Carvajal and Militao cleared. Great response from the hosts.
GOALL! Real Madrid returns to the charge. 2-1. Vinicius Jr with a beautiful shot in the far bottom corner. What a goal. 20th minute. The Real fans at the Anfield Road end are going crazy. That’s right. We all are!
GOALL! Huge mistake by Thibaut Courtois. He can’t control the ball and Salah is available to finish it off. Terrible moment for the Real Madrid goalkeeper. 2-0 to Liverpool against Real Madrid. 15 minutes in! Wow.
SO CLOSE! Almost 2-0 to Liverpool. Brilliant from Núñez and Gakpo to prepare Salah but his shot inside the area is weak. Núñez was wide open. Great Liverpool counterattack.
GOALL! Darwin Núñez with a spectacular shot. A beautiful ball from Salah and a brilliant career from Núñez. 1-0 to Liverpool. Anfield is going crazy!
KICK OFF! What an atmosphere at Anfield. We are underway.
Record duel between Liverpool and Real Madrid
Real Madrid have five victories compared to Liverpool’s three and have drawn once. Real Madrid have also beaten Liverpool in two UEFA Champions League finals, in 2021-22 and 2017-18. This is the tenth meeting between the two European giants.
key stories
Liverpool have struggled this season and a lack of energy and intensity has been the main problem as Klopp’s pressing tactics have been almost non-existent. They now have key players such as Virgil van Dijk who has returned from injury and Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have been among the targets recently as they are finally clicking as a trio.
Real Madrid have some key absences in midfield with Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni both out, but Karim Benzema is back from injury and that’s a huge boost for Ancelotti. Real’s squad is still full and will be happy to take Liverpool back to the Santiago Bernabéu with a draw or narrow loss to overturn.
Liverpool team news, lineup
OUT: Luis Diaz (knee), Arthur (thigh), Ibrahima Konate (muscle), Thiago (hip), Calvin Ramsey (knee)
