Liverpool-Real Madrid reaction: Reds’ resurgence continues, Trent’s unhappy return to Anfield, more

LIVERPOOL, England — Alexis Mac Allister scored the winning goal as Liverpool‘s revival continued with a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool thought they had earned a penalty in the first half when referee Istvan Kovacs judged Aurélien Tchouaméni to have handled the ball, but VAR ruled the midfielder’s arms were in a natural position.

Jude Bellingham saw his near-post effort saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili on the stroke of halftime, and Thibaut Courtois made impressive first-half stops to deny both Dominik Szoboszlai and Mac Allister. Courtois made another stunning stop to keep out Virgil van Dijk early in the second half; however, the Belgium international was finally beaten when Mac Allister nodded home Szoboszlai’s free kick in the 61st minute.

Much of the buildup to the game had been dominated by talk of Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s return to Anfield, and the defender was jeered when he was introduced from the bench in the 78th minute. Kylian Mbappé came closest for the visitors in the second half, with his stabbed effort drifting wide of the post. But Liverpool held out to secure a win that moves them up to sixth in the Champions League table. — Beth Lindop

Liverpool’s resurgence continues, but this is just the start

What a difference a week can make. Only six days ago, Liverpool’s season was on the brink after a rotten run of six defeats in seven games. They had crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Crystal Palace, with their hopes of defending their Premier League title growing bleaker with every passing matchday.

Fast-forward to now, and the picture at Anfield looks vastly different. After bouncing back in the league with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa, Liverpool turned in their most impressive display of the season against Madrid.

The resilience, tenacity and star quality that was sorely missing during the month of October has returned in abundance following the turn of the month, and head coach Arne Slot — who had come under fire for the first time in his Liverpool career — will now rightly be commended for galvanizing a team that not so long ago looked out of both hope and ideas.

Of course, this does not mean that Liverpool are «back.» The season is a marathon, not a sprint, and there will be plenty of other tough tests to come, starting with a trip to Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. But, for now at least, it seems the good times are back at Anfield. Now it is up to Slot and his players to keep them going. — Lindop

Doubts linger about Alonso’s Madrid

Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid looked to have put to rest any doubts about their big-game performance with their deserved El Clásico win over Barcelona 10 days ago. But this defeat, and the manner of it, raises more questions. This wasn’t a humbling of the scale of the 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup, or the 5-2 loss to Atletico in the Madrid derby. But Los Blancos were clearly inferior to Liverpool, second best all over the pitch, and could have lost by far more than one goal.

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Alonso had spoken before the game about Anfield’s unique atmosphere: «The moments when the stadium roars, and creates a positive energy for Liverpool.» Here, Madrid felt it but didn’t rise to the occasion; instead, they played within themselves. They created only one big chance, for Bellingham before halftime. Otherwise, there was minimal threat, and for a team that contains Bellingham, Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, that’s a major disappointment.

Picking an extra midfielder in Eduardo Camavinga didn’t help, and Alonso’s substitutions — introducing Rodrygo, Alexander-Arnold and Brahim Díaz — didn’t change anything. Alonso insists that his Madrid are still a team under construction, in the early stages of a process, and a long way from the finished article. This display, against a top team — despite Liverpool’s recent Premier League struggles — reinforces that idea. If Madrid are to make an impression in Europe this season, they’ll have to improve, fast. — Alex Kirkland

Bradley shines as Alexander-Arnold gets unhappy reunion

Even before a ball was kicked Tuesday night, the Liverpool fans made their feelings very clear. While former star Alexander-Arnold watched proceedings from the Real Madrid bench, the Kop serenaded his replacement at right back with chants of «There’s only one Conor Bradley.»

It has been a mixed campaign for the Northern Ireland international, with both form and fitness preventing him from truly staking his claim on the position Alexander-Arnold redefined across his glittering Anfield career. But against Madrid, Bradley made sure to show the watching world why Liverpool believe he is the perfect successor to the England international, defending brilliantly against the tricky Vinícius Júnior to help keep Liverpool’s fourth clean sheet of the season.

The game was barely 15 minutes old when Bradley nicked the ball from Bellingham and slalomed past Mbappé to get his team up the pitch. The maneuver earned him a standing ovation from the crowd, and their support for him was reaffirmed when Alexander-Arnold was finally introduced from the bench in the closing stages. It was not the welcome home the 27-year-old perhaps would have envisioned for himself when he left the club as a two-time Premier League champion in the summer. But in this hugely partisan city, Alexander-Arnold’s exit is viewed by many as an almighty betrayal. The fans voiced their displeasure by booing and jeering every time their former No. 66 touched the ball.

Absence, it seems, has not made the heart grow fonder. But if Bradley’s star continues to rise, Alexander-Arnold’s departure might become less difficult to swallow. — Lindop

Mbappé quiet at Anfield again

Mbappé looked unstoppable this season — until he got to Anfield. Mbappé had scored 18 goals in 14 games going into this match — five of them in the Champions League — but against Liverpool, he rarely threatened. It was a throwback to last season, when Mbappé began the campaign looking unsure of himself, culminating in a missed penalty at Anfield in Madrid’s 2-0 defeat on Nov. 27. He missed another in LaLiga a week later with Mbappé subsequently describing the spell as «rock bottom.»

A year later, this defeat at Anfield wasn’t Mbappé’s fault. He lacked service, as the attack around him failed to function, and Liverpool kept Madrid at arm’s length. But the brief moments of danger he was able to generate didn’t go his way, either. Seventeen minutes in, there was a first shot, flying high over the bar. Twenty minutes later, there was an attempted backheel to no one, bringing a promising counterattack to a halt. Midway through the second half, he collided with Virgil van Dijk — never an enjoyable experience — and not long afterward, when an Álvaro Carreras run ended with a ball across the six-yard box, Mbappé was nowhere to be seen.

His best chance came in the 75th minute, from a Vinícius Júnior pass. Mbappé’s shot, somewhat mishit, spun wide. On the sideline, Alonso jumped in frustration, knowing that a promising situation — one of just a few all night — had passed Madrid by. — Kirkland

Match-winner Mac Allister looks back to his best

Mac Allister could be forgiven for thinking he was experiencing a bout of déjà vu. As the midfielder was ushered over to the side of the pitch to receive his Player of the Match award on Tuesday night, he might well have cast his mind back to this time last year, when he also earned the accolade after a star turn against Real Madrid.

On that night in 2024, Mac Allister opened the scoring in a 2-0 win for Slot’s side, during a spell in which he appeared to be operating at the peak of his powers. This season, it has been a different story for the Argentina international, whose campaign was curtailed last term by an unspecified injury that also disrupted his preseason.

But he still managed to make himself the standout against Madrid, capping off an accomplished midfield display with the match-wining goal. His drop-off in form has undoubtedly contributed to Liverpool’s recent malaise, and it is no coincidence that his two best performances of the campaign — against Villa and Madrid — have coincided with the Reds’ two best team displays. Keeping Mac Allister fit and firing will be key to ensuring that Liverpool’s resurgence is not just a flash in the pan. — Lindop

Courtois keeps scoreline respectable

Van Dijk was laughing. In the 47th minute, Courtois had just saved the giant center back’s goal-bound header, and the feeling at Anfield was: Isn’t this getting a bit ridiculous? Even Courtois allowed himself a brief smile at this latest miraculous intervention, before moving to organize his under-fire defense.

The save from van Dijk wasn’t Courtois’ first outstanding stop of the game, or his second. He had already pulled off two hard-to-believe saves on Szoboszlai in the first half, one from point-blank range. The van Dijk save wasn’t the last, either. Just a minute later, Courtois tipped a shot from Ekitike over, just as impressively. Then he saved a Szoboszlai free kick. When Mac Allister’s goal came, even Courtois was helpless. The header was too close, too powerful, flashing past his head before he had time to react.

Courtois and Liverpool have history. The goalkeeper’s performance in the 2022 Champions League final in Paris — he made a record nine saves, meaning Liverpool’s dominance went unrewarded as Madrid won 1-0 — was unforgettable. Here, there were eight saves. They didn’t contribute to a Madrid win this time, but they did ensure this remained a close contest, when at times, the balance of play was anything but. — Kirkland