Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid: Blancos come back from behind to crush Liverpool at Anfield

Real Madrid made a strong case to reach their favourite tournament’s quarter-finals.

Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 5-2 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday. The Reds had no chance to stop their opponents’ superior firepower.

A game of blunders!

Liverpool stunned their guests with an early opener through Darwin Nunez. The Reds kept on controlling the possession, doubling their lead in the 14th minute.

Following a mistake from Thibaut Courtois, Mohamed Salah made it 2-0 for the Reds. The Egyptian star equalled Didier Drogba’s record for most UCL goals by an African player (44).

But it didn’t take Real Madrid too long to pull off a trade mark comeback. Vinicius Junior smashed a brilliant shot from the corner of the box to make it 2-1.

The Brazil international then scored the equalizer after a horrible blunder from Alisson Becker. The Liverpool keeper tried to make a short pass from inside the box but smashed the ball into Vinicius’ foot and into the back of the net.

Real Madrid kept their opponents under pressure to complete their comeback. Only two minutes after the break, unmarked Eder Militao scored a routine header to put his side ahead at Anfield.

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Liverpool’s backline was shattered under relentless pressure from Real Madrid. Karim Benzema then made it 4-2 for the guests as Joe Gomez deflected his shot into the back of the net in the 55th minute.

Liverpool made a few hasty attempts to get back into the game. However, they barely made any serious chances, with Real Madrid eagerly waiting for counter-attacking chances.

The Blancos finally found another broke through when Luka Modric started a quick counter-attack in the 67th minute. The Croatian passed the ball to Vinicius, who nodded it to Benzema inside the box.

Alisson rushed out of the box, but Benzema got around him before smashing the ball into the back of the net to complete Liverpool’s embarrassing defeat.

After Benzema completed his brace, the pace of the game dropped dramatically. Liverpool made a few attempts to score but barely got past Real Madrid’s pressing in midfield.

The two sides will meet again for the second leg on March 15.