Defending Champions and the record Champions League winners Real Madrid were too good for Liverpool to handle as they blew away the Kops 5-2 at their own home ground Anfield.
The match started with the impression that Liverpool would get a positive result out of it as they took the lead in the fourth minute through Darwin Nunez, and 10 minutes later, doubling it through Mohammed Salah who capitalised on Thibaut Courtois’ blunder to put the ball at the back of the net.
The second goal woke up a sleeping giant that started to look for ways of scoring. It didn’t take them long before Vinicius Junior finding the net in the 21st minute.
Just like Courtois blundered to give Liverpool the second, Allison Becker did the same on the other end as his return pass to Joe Gomes hit the sprinting Vinicius and made its way to the back of the net for the Brazilian’s second that drew Carlo Ancelotti’s men level. The scoreline stayed level at halftime.
The second half was only a Real Madrid affair as they made it rain goals at Anfield. Unmarked defender Eder Militao put the Los Blancos ahead just two minutes after the restart with a thunderous header from Luka Modric’s free kick.
It would not have been a Real Madrid party without club captain Karim Benzema dancing, and the Frenchman stepped up with two goals in quick succession (55th and 67th minutes) to take the visitor’s tally to five on the night.
This was the first time Liverpool were conceding five goals in the first leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, and it reflects a run of poor form the Reds have endured in the Premier League.
If they want to progress into the quarter-finals, Liverpool have a big task of scoring four goals unanswered in the return leg of this fixture that will be played on March 15 at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain.
