Liverpool narrowly beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League at Anfield, with the only goal coming in the second half, courtesy of a header by Alexis Mac Allister. The Cormorants faced a “dragon” throughout the 90 minutes, more specifically Thibaut Courtois, with the Belgian goalkeeper being the savior of “los blancos” thanks to his sensational reflexes. The hosts achieved their second consecutive success in all competitions and won for the second time in a row against the Spaniards in a game played in the “all-star competition”.
Liverpool hosted Real Madrid at home in a new round of the main stage of the most important interclub competition on the continent, at a time in the season when the English had managed to win a match for the first time, in the Premier League, after four consecutive defeats. In fact, the victory recorded by the students trained by Arne Slot against Aston Villa, with a two-goal difference, was the first triumph registered by the “cormorants”, after five defeats suffered in the most recent six confrontations, in all competitions.
On the other hand, the footballers trained by the technical bench of Xabi Alonso appeared at the confrontation in England, after an impressive series of six consecutive successes on all “fronts”, including a duel in the UEFA Champions League, against Juventus, in which a triumph was recorded at the limit, namely, the victory in “El-Clasico”, against the great rival, FC Barcelona. In addition, the sensational form of Kylian Mbappe, who traveled to Liverpool as the top scorer in the current season in the European competition, but also in the Spanish championship, was an encouraging factor for the team from the Spanish capital.
The home team’s Dutch coach could not rely on a large number of players for this match, including Alisson, Jeremie Frimpong, Alexander Isak, while the Iberian technician of “los blancos” did not have David Alaba, Daniel Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, respectively, Franco Mastantuono available for the duel against the “cormorants”, the last of those mentioned having recently suffered an injury. Trent-Alexander Arnold was included in the Real Madrid squad, but the right-back did not start as a starter upon his return to “Anfield”, but the “treatment” he received from the Liverpool fans was hostile.
Up to this point in the European season, the Premier League team had defeated Atletico Madrid at home in the first round, with a final score of 3-2, before losing the away match against Galatasaray by a single goal. Liverpool then achieved a resounding 5-1 victory in Germany over Eintracht Frankfurt. The Spaniards had beaten Olympique Marseille by a single goal in the opening round at Anfield, before the Whites beat Kairat Almaty 5-0 in Kazakhstan, and the away match against Juventus was won thanks to a goal from Jude Bellingham.
The match in Great Britain began with Liverpool putting extra pressure on the opposition goal, but Real Madrid were the team that tried to open the game through their flanks. However, the first goal-scoring opportunity in this duel appeared in the 27th minute, when an erroneous slip by Dean Huijsen allowed Florian Wirtz to gain possession of the ball, and after advancing with the ball at his feet, the German footballer crossed in front of the goal for Dominik Szoboszlai. The Hungarian central midfielder wanted to score with a “ladder” over Thibaut Courtois, but the Belgian goalkeeper was on the post and rejected the shot from close range.
A few minutes later, a controversial phase would occur, at the end of a well-structured counterattack by the English team. Mohamed Salah reached the edge of the penalty area and decided to take the ball out for Dominik Szoboszlai to finish. The Liverpool number eight’s shot was blocked, in extremis, by Aurelien Tchouameni, with his hand, and the Romanian referee, Istvan Kovacs, awarded a free kick for the hosts. The VAR monitor was called to review the phase, and the latter overturned his initial decision and awarded possession to Los Blancos, considering that the French defensive midfielder was in a natural position and close to the ball, so he had no way to avoid contact.
A few minutes before entering the dressing rooms, the most dangerous man of the Cormorants in the first half of the game, Dominik Szoboszlai, put Thibaut Courtois to the test once again, when he shot strongly from approximately 16 meters, but the Belgian goalkeeper responded affirmatively and blocked the ball outside the field of play. Then, Real Madrid appeared on the offensive, and Jude Bellingham easily passed Ibrahima Konate, but his finish at the short corner was rejected by Giorgi Mamardashvili. Two minutes after the restart, the students trained by Arne Slot were one step away from unblocking the scoreboard, when Virgil Van Dijk’s header was cleared off the bar by the one who worked “miracles” between the Spanish goals during the 90 minutes.
Immediately after this set piece, Liverpool opened the scoring, also from a static moment of the match, when the ball launched into the goal mouth, from an angle, by Dominik Szoboszlai, was headed from a few meters by the 2022 world champion with Argentina, Alexis Mac Allister. Although the ball was directed to the center of the opponent’s goal, Thibaut Courtois could not prevent it from shaking the Real Madrid goal net, and “los blancos” would concede their second goal this season in the “star competition”. The next important goal chance was marked towards the end of the game, but the execution of the first by Cody Gakpo, who entered during the match, from the outside pass of Mohamed Salah, was blocked by the Belgian goalkeeper of the Iberians.
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his appearance on the pitch in the last 10 minutes of the match, and the “reception” that the right-back received from the “cormorants” fans was a tense one, following his transfer from Liverpool to Real Madrid in the most recent “window” of transfers. The English obtained the three points and managed to pass “los blancos” for the second time in a row, on home soil, in the UEFA Champions League, after the success a season ago, final score 2-0. Alexis Mac Allister, like in the previous season, scored against the Spaniards and was designated “man of the match”.
For the first time this season, the team coached by Xabi Alonso failed to score, and the return to LaLiga will occur away, on the field of Rayo Vallecano. Liverpool is to play against Manchester City, far from “home”, in the Premier League. In the standings of the most important European football competition, the “cormorants” occupy sixth place, tied on nine points with the team from the Spanish capital, but with a lower goal difference. In the next round, the British will receive the visit of the Dutch from PSV Eindhoven, and Real Madrid is set to play in Greece, against Olympiakos.