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1. Posted at 1:141:14

   Post update

   Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid

   Remarkably the stats were actually pretty even.

   Liverpool had 51.6% possession. Both sides had nine shots. Real edged efforts on target 6-5.

   On expected goals, the stat which shows how many goals you should score from your chances…

   Liverpool actually won 2.01 to 1.66.

2. Posted at 1:121:12

   ‘Real punished us every time’

   Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid

   

   Liverpool

   Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson to BT Sport: “Very difficult. It’s hard to sum it up straight after the game. Mixed feelings. Frustration with the result.

   “For large parts of the first half we performed well and were unlucky to be level at half-time.

   “We made too many mistakes. Real Madrid punished us every time tonight.

   “A lot was [down to] their quality. We didn’t help ourselves for sure. We didn’t defend it [Real’s third goal] well enough. After that there was a few balls we could do better. The game went away from us at that point.

   “The last two games we kept clean sheets. It’s hard. it’s difficult to come here and speak. Yes, they have a lot of quality. When you’re not 100% defending they punish you. We caused ourselves problems at times.

   “It’s a tough one to take in the end.

   “We still played a good first half. We were on top and created some good chances. There was a good chance at 2-0, a scuffle on the line. If that goes in it’s a big moment.

   “The second goal obviously is a mistake. The third we’ll be disappointed with. That’s when the game went away from us.

   “It’s [the second leg] still a few weeks away. We have to move on quickly. We have Premier League games before then so we have to concentrate on that, and cross this bridge when we come to it.”

3. osted at 1:091:09

   Post update

   Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid

   Liverpool are the first team in Champions League history to take a 2-0 lead but then lose the game by a three-goal margin.

   Real Madrid are the first team in Champions League history to come from two goals down and win by a three-goal margin.

   Source:BBC Sport

   Real Madrid came from two down to beat Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.

    

   UEFA Champions League holders Real Madrid have one foot in the quarter-finals after a sensational 5-2 win against Liverpool at Anfield.

   Key moments

   4′: Núñez scores with outlandish flick
   14′: Salah pounces on Courtois lapse
   21′: Vinícius fizzes shot past Alisson
   36′: Alisson clearance goes in off Vinícius
   47: Éder Militão heads in Modrić free-kick
   55: Benzema shot deflects in off Gomez
   67: Benzema coolly finishes slick counter

   Match in brief: Madrid mount stunning comeback

   When Darwin Núñez impudently flicked Liverpool into an early lead, few could have predicted what was to come; when Mohamed Salah then pounced on Thibaut Courtois’ mis-control to make it 2-0 before a quarter of an hour had been played, the final scoreline seemed implausible.

   As was evident when these two teams met in last season’s final, though, Madrid are not easily beaten. Vinícius Júnior struck twice – the first a fine finish past Alisson, the second a block on the Liverpool keeper’s clearance – to restore parity before half-time.

   Éder Militão headed in Luka Modrić’s free-kick early in the second half to complete the turnaround, and there was still time for Karim Benzema to come to the fore. Though the Madrid No9 was fortunate when his shot deflected in off Joe Gomez to make it 4-2, he was the model of cool when applying the finish to a swift counterattack for the visitors’ fifth.

   Steven Gerrard, BT Sport

   “This is a reality check. Liverpool made the perfect start but from that moment Madrid came back into it and Liverpool were dominated. Any team that concedes five goals, there has to be an inquest. There’s going to be a bit of soul-searching now.”

   PlayStation® Player of the Match: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)

   “Decisive attacking moments and a game-changing finish at 2-0 down. Two goals, an assist and he won the foul for the goal from a free-kick. Modrić was also outstanding.”
   UEFA Technical Observer panel

   Matthew Howarth, Liverpool reporter

   The game appeared to be following a familiar script in the early stages, as Liverpool overwhelmed the reigning champions in a relentless opening. But Madrid’s class then came to the fore; after clawing their way back into the game, Carlo Ancelotti’s team may have put the tie beyond the Reds in the second. Having looked capable of restoring their two-goal advantage after Vinícius had pulled one back, Liverpool never really recovered from the Brazilian’s opportunistic second.

   As it happened: Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid

   Graham Hunter, Real Madrid reporter

   Ask yourself: how many teams could do this? Three key players absent (Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos and Aurélien Tchouaméni), choosing to play three strikers in an adventurous 4-3-3, going 2-0 down and then scoring five in reply? Last season featured incredible Madrid comeback performances against Paris, Chelsea and Manchester City which looked unlikely to be matched, let alone superseded. But these are remarkable competitors, from Ancelotti, through Modrić, Vinícius and Benzema. Roll on part two.

   Reaction

   To follow.

   Key stats

   • Liverpool had never before conceded even four goals in a European home match.
   • This was the first time Liverpool had ever lost a first leg at home in Europe to a team outside of England. Both previous first-leg defeats at Anfield were at the hands of domestic rivals – Leeds in the 1970/71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals and Chelsea in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
   • Benzema is the first player to score in the UEFA Champions League in 19 successive calendar years (2005-2023). He has now scored six European Cup goals against Liverpool, more than any other player.
   • Vinícius has scored against Liverpool in the knockout stage three seasons running (2022/23 round of 16, 2021/22 final, 2020/21 quarter-finals).
   • Aged 22 years 224 days, Vinícius is the youngest visiting player to score twice against Liverpool at Anfield in major European competition since Johan Cruyff for Ajax in December 1966 (19 years 233 days).
   • Salah is now Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer in European competition with 42 goals, one more than Steven Gerrard.
   • Salah’s 44 UEFA Champions League goals make him the joint-highest African scorer in the competition’s history, level with Didier Drogba.
   • Aged 18 years 122 days, Stefan Bajčetić became the youngest player to start for Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.

   Fantasy star performers

   To follow.

   Line-ups

   Liverpool: Alisson Becker; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez (Matip 73), Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson (Milner 73), Fabinho, Bajcetic (Elliott 85); Salah, Gakpo (Firmino 64), Núñez (Jota 64)

   Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Éder Militão, Rüdiger, Alaba (Nacho 27); Valverde, Camavinga, Modrić (Kroos 87); Rodrygo (Ceballos 81), Benzema (Asensio 87), Vinícius Júnior

   Source:UEFA Champions