It seems that Real Madrid always keeps its best for the Champions League, and Liverpool was the latest victim of its uprising in the tournament when the defending champions won 5-2 at Anfield Stadium on Tuesday.
Real Madrid’s refusal to surrender to its fate was a decisive factor in achieving its 14th title last season, and it seemed that it had not lost its charming touch.
And while it can be said that Liverpool collapsed at the hands of its players, Real Madrid has a history of preserving its best for the best, and in this case it is the Champions League.
Last season, he lost 1-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the round of 16, but rose to victory 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu before beating Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
Manchester City seemed in a good position when it won 4-3 in the first leg of the semi-finals and advanced with a goal in the return match in Madrid.
But Rodrygo scored two goals in the last minutes, extending the match to extra time, which Karim Benzema decided from a penalty kick.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Real Madrid scored two goals in the first 14 minutes, and Liverpool fans felt that their team would avenge their defeat in last year’s final, with the guest team suffering to deal with the burning atmosphere.
Vinicius Junior rose up to score two goals and equalize at the end of the first half.
In the second half, there was one team on the field, and Real Madrid gave its opponent a lesson in how to resolve matches, and perhaps the entire confrontation.
Liverpool did not pose any danger after the break despite the support of the fans, while Real Madrid scored three goals from four attempts on goal to become the first team in the history of the tournament to turn a deficit of two goals into a victory by three goals.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said, “Of course we did not expect a start like my team made, but when we were 2-0 down, I thought about what happened at (Manchester) City last year, hoping to repeat what happened, but in the end something better came out.”
“We never lost confidence and managed to regain control of the ball. The experienced players helped the youngsters in many situations. Karim (Benzema), (Luka) Modric and (Toni) Kroos said ‘Keep calm, there is still a long way to go‘ And it worked in the end.”
Liverpool scored five goals at home for the first time in the Champions League, and it is the third time that they have received this number of goals in one match at home in all competitions this century.
This is the sixth defeat in seven matches for Liverpool against Real Madrid, including the final in 2018 and 2022, with coach Jurgen Klopp’s team waiting for the return match in his disastrous season.
“I told the players after the match that a defeat becomes a defeat if we don’t learn from it,” Klopp said. “If we allow one game to affect us, that’s bad.”
“Yes, we need to improve, but we have to look at the positive things as well. We gave Real Madrid the five goals, and we could have done better, but (Real) is completely different.”
“We will go to (Madrid) to win. I don’t know how likely it is or not,” he added.
