Real Madrid’s legacy in the UEFA Champions League continues. The 14-time champions have once again shown their class and proved why they live for the Champions League. Despite conceding two goals in the first 15 minutes, Real Madrid didn’t give up and returned five goals to destroy Liverpool at Anfield.
As it happened
Liverpool hosted Real Madrid last night to play the first leg of the Round of 16. Liverpool boss Carlo Ancelotti played his best possible XI against the Los Blancos as they were determined to take revenge for the defeat in the UCL final. However, managers from both sides set up their team’s formation with 4-3-3.
Liverpool, the home team, had a brilliant start as they got an early goal against Real Madrid. Darwin Nunez netted the ball in just four minutes with the help of Mohammad Salah.
The home team didn’t take much time to double their lead. But all credit goes to Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The goalkeeper made an error while passing the ball. Mohammad Salah stole it and netted the ball in the 14th minute. As a result, Liverpool took a two-goal lead in just 15 minutes.
After that, Real Madrid became The Mighty Real Madrid. They dominated everywhere on the pitch. The first goal of Real Madrid came in the 21st minute as Vinicius Junior’s powerful shot found the right corner of the net.
Like Thibaut Courtois, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson made the same error. He made a wrong pass, which found the net after deflecting on Vinicius. As a result, Real Madrid leveled the scoreline in the first half.
Coming back from the break, Real Madrid gave Liverpool no chance indeed. The Los Blancos took the lead at the start of the 2nd half. Defender Eder Militao scored that goal in the 47th minute with a powerful header.
After that, Karim Benzema was on fire and scored two more goals for Real Madrid. His first goal came in the 55th minute, but his second goal was something special. The Frenchman scored his second goal in the 67th minute just like in a video game.
Vinicius passed the ball to Benzema, and Benzema defeated the goalkeeper along with three defenders. After that, his shot found the left corner of the net in the 67th minute. Liverpool, then, never came closer to scoring a goal. As a result, Real Madrid won the game with a massive 5-2 margin and have gone one step closer to the quarterfinal.
