An evening to forget for the Merengues. Traveling to Anfield for the 4th day of the Champions League, Real Madrid lost to Liverpool. Arne Slot’s men quickly put the pressure on, taking Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side to task in the first minutes and dictating the pace of the match. MacAllister opened the strike counter for Liverpool, but his shot went over (10′).
The match then shifted into an intense rhythm, the ball coming and going in both areas. Real dominated possession for a moment, but without sufficient acceleration to find the fault. For Liverpool, Wirtz and Szoboszlai threatened, but Courtois was imperious, making decisive saves until the break (28′, 43′, 45′).
The second half started with the same dynamic, Courtois making multiple saves on attempts by Van Dijk and Ekitike from the restart (47′). Liverpool continued to put pressure on and almost deceived the Belgian goalkeeper on a free kick from Szoboszlai (51′). The Madrid defense seemed powerless and in front of Mbappé struggled to shine.
Mac Allister delivers Liverpool
Liverpool finally opened the scoring in the 62nd minute. Szoboszlai fired a perfectly placed free-kick for Mac Allister, whose header under the bar beat Courtois. Real, very limited offensively, did not find a solution and seemed to have no response to the organization and efficiency of the Reds.
It was in the last quarter of an hour that the Madrilenians tried to react, carried by Vinicius and Mbappé. On a nice combination on the right side, Mbappé grazed the top corner with a flat-footed shot (76′). Despite these initiatives, Liverpool held on. Courtois, although beaten by the only goal, still delivered an exceptional performance, limiting the extent of the defeat. Real thus records its first setback of the season in the Champions League.
