Liverpool vs Real Madrid LIVE score: Champions League result as Real come from two goals down to win
Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid: A 2-0 Liverpool lead soon turned into a heavy defeat on a nightmare night at Anfield
Real Madrid produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to earn a devastating 5-2 victory at Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
In a re-run of last year’s final, the first half was played at a ferocious pace, with the hosts racing into a fourth-minute lead through a superb Darwin Nunez flick, the quickest goal Liverpool have ever scored at Anfield in the Champions League. Anfield erupted 10 minutes later when a horrendous miscontrol from Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left Mohamed Salah with the simple task of slotting the ball home to make it 2-0.
Yet just as they did on several occasions en route to their 14th European Cup crown last season, Real quickly turned things around, with Vinicius Jr. scoring one sublime strike and one fluke goal after another goalkeeping mistake to level the match by half-time. A bullet Eder Militao header completed the turnaround for Real early in the second half, sapping all the life out of Anfield in the process.
The hosts’ misery was not done there, however, as Karim Benzema’s double ensured Liverpool shipped five goals at home for only the third time this century in all competitions, leaving them with a monumental task to reach the quarter-finals.
Relive all the action from a crazy night at Anfield:
Liverpool line-up
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Bajcetic, Henderson, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
Group stage round-up
Real Madrid were never in any danger of losing their group this year.
They opened their campaign with three consecutive victories against Celtic, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk before a draw with the Ukranian side effectively sealed their progression to the knockout stages.
Leipzig defeated Real on the fifth matchday in a 3-2 thriller but Carlo Ancelotti’s men secured the top spot in Group F with a resounding 5-1 thrashing of Celtic in the final group game.
Things were trickier for Liverpool. A 4-1 defeat to Napoli in their opening group game meant that Jurgen Klopp’s men were not only searching for wins but big ones at that.
After four consecutive victories, against Ajax and Rangers (home and away), the Reds notched up an impressive goal difference but Napoli matched them every step of the way.
The final group game was played between the two teams with Liverpool needing to win 4-0 to overtake the Italian side at the top for Group A. Klopp’s side could only manage a 2-0 victory which sent them through to the knockout stages in second place and means they now have to face Real Madrid in the last-16.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid
The last time Liverpool defeated Real Madrid at Anfield, Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard (x2) and Andrea Dossena all scored in a 4-0 romp for the home side.
Here are the highlights from that game in 2009:
Jurgen Klopp on facing Real Madrid
Liverpool have a bit of history with Real Madrid. They have not beaten the Spanish giants in six games, two of which were Champions League finals.
Jurgen Klopp was asked whether Liverpool’s poor run of form against Madrid would come into play tonight and he replied:
“Different things happened to us with Real Madrid. If you want, to me; at Dortmund I had already a Real Madrid story. One of the biggest clubs in the world, one of the most successful clubs for sure, won this competition I don’t know how often. Super-experienced.
“In our own story, just recently if you want, we played this final in Paris and I didn’t watch it back since then – until this weekend. The thing I realised immediately: now I know why I didn’t watch it back. But I had to and it was proper torture because we played a good game and we could have won the game, and that’s the decisive word: we could. We didn’t, they scored the decisive goal and we didn’t, that was the reason.
“You could see in this game how experienced Madrid is, how little they are fussed when the other team has chances. They don’t lose confidence in one second, they know, ‘Our chance will come’, they are there for that and they defend with legs, deep defending together. So, this is this team and that’s the competition and that’s what you can learn from them, definitely.
“But that’s seven, eight months ago. Before that, the last time when they knocked us out, we played there on the training ground and here in an empty stadium. Here the game was really good, it was a really good 0-0 where we let them run, let me say it like this, we let them work hard for the money and that was good.
“But this is now different teams. Same clubs, different teams, different times. There’s a history. In the last few years one of us was kind of always in the final, that’s how it feels at least.
“And usually if you want to go to the final it’s always you have to kick us out or them. This time we play each other, so let’s see who can go through.”
The ‘proper torture’ Jurgen Klopp endured to prepare for Real Madrid rematch
Jurgen Klopp subjected himself to a video nasty recently, watching back one of Liverpool’s defeats. “It was proper torture,” he said. He was not talking about the 2023 losses to Brentford, Brighton and Wolves, matches that could rank among the worst of his reign at Liverpool.
Instead, the torturous element was the sense that his side did a lot right. Reliving the 2022 Champions League final for the first time was a different sort of agony. “We played a good game and could have won the game – and that’s the decisive word because we could but didn’t, because they scored and we didn’t, and that’s the decisive reason,” he said.
Klopp, the great proponent of heavy-metal football, watched it with the sound off, immersed in his thoughts, sat on his own. “Unfortunately,” he said. “There was a feeling of here and there and with an extra spark we could have made this thing [happen].”
He felt his team were too cautious at times. “We did not take enough risks in little moments, we were not adventurous enough,” he explained. With a bit more boldness, Liverpool could have pulled off a historic cup treble.
Instead, he remains a one-time Champions League winner. It puts him three behind the nonpareil Carlo Ancelotti. A rematch with Real Madrid may not be a revenge mission, but it feels like a clash of opposites. Perhaps Real are Liverpool’s kryptonite.
Klopp’s brand of football, after all, is based on the speed and intensity to create chaos. And then there is Real, the veterans who play the game at their own pace, who seem utterly unworried when trailing or dominated, a side with the personality of the managerial king of cool.
The ‘proper torture’ Jurgen Klopp endured to prepare for Real Madrid rematch
Liverpool take on the Spanish champions in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday
Liverpool vs Real Madrid prediction
Saturday’s performance against Newcastle will provide Jurgen Klopp’s side with a much-needed confidence boost ahead of this crunch tie.
Stefan Bajcetic will face a huge task in central midfield against vastly experienced opposition, while Liverpool’s defence will have to work hard against a pacy and clinical Real Madrid front line.
Ultimately, these fine margins might make the difference in this clash between two European heavyweights.
Liverpool 1- 2 Real Madrid.
Real Madrid starting line-up
Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga, Modric, Valverde, Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Liverpool vs Real Madrid predicted line-ups
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Bajcetic, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Jota
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Ceballos, Modric, Valverde; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Junior
What is the early team news?
Luis Diaz, Ibrahima Konate, Thiago Alcantara and Calvin Ramsay are confirmed absentees for Liverpool. Arthur Melo remains a doubt as he continues to recover from a long-term thigh injury which hasn’t seen the midfielder play since Liverpool’s 4-1 loss to Napoli in the group stages.
Nunez was forced off before the hour mark against Newcastle on the weekend with a shoulder injury, with Klopp saying there is “a chance” the Uruguayan will feature in Tuesday’s clash.
The visitors will be without Mariano Diaz and Ferland Mendy with the pair out with long-term injuries. Ancelotti confirmed that Dani Carvajal has fully recovered from a lingering muscle injury and will be available while neither Toni Kroos nor Aurelien Tchouameni will feature having missed Madrid’s weekend game through illness.
Karim Benzema also missed the game against Osasuna but is also expected to return for the midweek fixture.
How to watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid
The match will kick off at 8pm on Tuesday, 21 January at Anfield.
The match will be available for fans to watch on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate. Coverage starts on both at 7pm.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies