Real Madrid Humiliate Liverpool in Champions League, Expose Weak Right-Side Defence | Watch Highlights

Real Madrid left Liverpool on the brink of Champions League elimination after fighting back from a two-goal deficit to win 5-2 in a classic game at Anfield.

Reigning European champions Real Madrid had fallen 2-0 down inside 14 minutes after goals from Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah. But two Vinicius Junior goals hauled the Spanish side level before half-time and Real Madrid pulled clear in the second-half with a Eder Militao header and two strikes from Karim Benzema.

This is a result that will sit high even in Real Madrid’s illustrious hall of fame — but it will also be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons for Liverpool, who suffered their biggest-ever Champions League defeat, conceding five goals for their first time in the competition’s history.

Real Madrid Humiliate Liverpool in a Champions League Classic

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was right to speak in tones of reverence about Real Madrid prior to this Champions League tie. He had said that no other team could win quite like Real when the odds are stacked against them, and he was proved right as the reigning European champions stunned his team at Anfield on Tuesday.

It had looked like being another historic Champions League night for Liverpool when they raced into a 2-0 lead inside 14 minutes. Having made Anfield such a fortress in Europe over the years, Liverpool seemed odds-on for a decisive first-leg win.

But Real are unlike any other team. The vast majority of teams would have crumbled at 2-0 down, but unlike Barcelona in 2019 — who saw a 3-0 semifinal first-leg lead blown away in a 4-0 defeat here — Real turned a lost cause into a winning one to inflict Liverpool’s biggest-ever Champions League loss.

At 2-0 down, Real didn’t let panic set in. They just calmly held their nerve, knowing that chances would come to claw their way back into the game. Just like last season, when they overturned similarly bleak situations against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City, Real backed their quality and experience, and it paid off in spectacular fashion.

Vinicius Junior’s two goals in the 21st and 26th minutes, hauled them level before Eder Militao headed Real into the lead on 47 minutes. And from that point on, there was no looking back. Two more goals from Karim Benzema sealed a 5-2 win to put Real in command ahead of the second-leg in Madrid next month.

In years to come, this win will still sting for Liverpool as much as it will be remembered in Madrid. So many teams have seen their European hopes crushed at a raucous Anfield over the years, but this Real Madrid team is made of sterner stuff and they showed that Anfield isn’t quite so scary after all.

Vinicius Junior Proves His Credentials as a Superstar

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford might just have some competition for the title of the hottest player in Europe right now from Vinicius Junior.

The Real Madrid winger is certainly the biggest thorn in Liverpool’s side having taken his tally against them to five goals in five games. No player has scored more goals against Liverpool in the Champions League than Vinicius Junior, who also scored the winner in Real’s 1-0 victory against Liverpool team in last season’s Champions League final in Paris.

Rashford’s hot streak at Manchester United — with 16 goals in 17 games since the World Cup — has quite rightly led to him being acclaimed as the best forward in the game at this moment in time. But Vini Jr.’s performance at Anfield was sensational and, with it being on the Champions League stage, it was arguably more impressive than anything Rashford has managed during his recent run.

Vini Jr. now has 18 goals in 35 games for Real Madrid this season after becoming the youngest player to score twice against Liverpool in a European game at Anfield since Johan Cruyff for Ajax in 1966.

In this game, he was devastating down Real left, scoring twice in the first-half to cancel out Liverpool’s early 2-0 lead. He then continued his destructive performance by playing a key role in subsequent goals for Eder Militao and Karim Benzema.

Considering all of the off-field challenges that Vini Jr. continues to face in Spain following a series of racist incidents against him, his ability to produce such high quality performance is a testament to the 22-year-old’s courage and resolve.

But he is also a world-class footballer, and nobody is playing better than he is.

Liverpool’s Right-Side Weakness in Defence to Blame

When Liverpool were torn apart in a 4-1 defeat against Napoli in the group stage, the Serie A leaders won by targeting Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez on the right side of Liverpool’s defence.

Having done the same to win the Champions League final in Paris last year, it was no surprise that Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti used the same tactic at Anfield, with Vinicius Junior repeatedly tormenting both Liverpool defenders. The result on Tuesday was another loss by three goals, equaling Liverpool’s largest losing margin in the Champions League, albeit by conceding a club-record five goals in the competition.

Quite simply, Europe’s best coaches know exactly where Liverpool’s biggest weakness lies: the right side of their defence.

Real’s first three goals at Anfield came directly from that side of the pitch, with Alexander-Arnold constantly abandoning his defensive duties to leave Gomez isolated against the pace and strength of Vini Jr.

Gomez is a confidence player. He only seems to have highs or lows, with nothing in between, and this was a low night. His back-pass to goalkeeper Alisson Becker, when under pressure from Vini Jr., led to Alisson kicking the ball against the Vini Jr. and into the net. With the Real Madrid forward on his shoulder, Gomez should have gone safety first and cleared for a throw-in.

And early in the second-half, a Gomez foul on the Real forward — after Alexander-Arnold had stood and watched like a statue — led to the free-kick from which Eder Militao headed Real in front for the first time in the game.

It was one of those nightmare games for Liverpool’s defenders and by the time Karim Benzema scored Real’s fourth with a shot which deflected in off Gomez, you could only feel sorry for the embattled centre-half.

The post Vinicius Jr., Real Madrid humiliate Liverpool in Champions League, expose weak right-side defence was originally published on ESPN.