In a UEFA Champions League (UCL) classic, Real Madrid came from behind to beat Liverpool 5-2 in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie, leaving the Reds winless in the last seven H2Hs between these European giants.
Just four minutes into proceedings, Darwin Núñez applied an audacious flick to Mohamed Salah’s ball to sensationally open the scoring as Liverpool got off to the perfect start.
After a dominant opening that was reminiscent of seasons gone by for the Reds, Thibaut Courtois then gave Salah an absolute gift with a poor touch, and the Egyptian gratefully accepted it to draw level with Didier Drogba as the highest-scoring African in UCL history.
In stark contrast to his goalkeeper’s mistake, Vinícius Júnior replicated his quality from last season’s final to reduce Los Blancos’ deficit with a stunning strike that curled into the bottom corner.
The Brazilian was gifted his second though, as Alisson’s attempted pass bounced off his compatriot and into the net in a match that was switching between the sublime and calamitous.
Vinícius almost cut Liverpool open again with a ball to Rodrygo, although Andrew Robertson made an outstanding intervention to keep the score level going into the break.
However, it took just two second-half minutes for Los Blancos to be headed in front when Éder Militão was found in space by Luka Modrić’s pinpoint free-kick delivery, leaving a stunned Anfield the quietest it had been all evening.
Having been the man to clumsily concede that free-kick, Joe Gomez then deflected Karim Benzema’s effort past Alisson a mere eight minutes later to completely flip the tie.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were at their imperious best now. Vinícius was released by Modrić after he bypassed Liverpool’s midfield with ease, and he slipped through Benzema who showed incredible composure for his second of the night whilst also becoming the first-ever Real Madrid player to score in six competitions during a single season.
With Los Blancos taking control, Liverpool were unable to create any notable late opportunities as Jürgen Klopp’s side suffered just their second loss in 24 home matches across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have won their last five contests, scoring 20 goals in that time, and take a commanding lead back to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium after a scintillating night at Anfield.
