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Ultimately it was not about who was back at Anfield but what was back. The Liverpool of Arne Slot’s title-winning debut season was the answer and, for the second November in succession, Real Madrid did not have one of their own.
Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in last season’s 2-0 defeat of the Spanish giants – though giant is not an accurate description of their latest performance on Merseyside – and settled the reunion of the European heavyweights as Liverpool, all controlled aggression and clear intent, ignited their Champions League campaign and quite possibly their season. Another clean sheet and set-piece goal added to Slot’s satisfaction on a raucous, reaffirming night at Anfield. Xabi Alonso’s team were a distant second all night. Trent Alexander-Arnold, his mural near Anfield vandalised earlier in the day, entered in the 81st minute to a chorus of boos.
Belief soared through Liverpool ranks following a Champions League win over the Spanish giants 12 months ago, rolling into a Premier League win over Sunday’s opponent Manchester City four days later and ultimately a 20th league title. Slot was reluctant to draw comparisons with last season’s 2-0 victory on account of Real’s extensive injury list that night and subsequent changes in personnel at both clubs. Another difference went unsaid at his pre-match press conference. Liverpool went into that game with the momentum of 13 wins from a 14-game unbeaten run. On this occasion it was two wins and six defeats in eight games. The extent of the recovery against Aston Villa on Saturday faced a true examination here. The signs were immediately encouraging for Slot.
Real did not get out of their half for the first five minutes as Liverpool started with an intensity and confidence that delighted the Anfield crowd. Florian Wirtz was to the fore on his recall to the starting lineup and created the first chance of an absorbing contest when dispossessing Dean Huijsen near the corner flag. Alexis Mac Allister side-footed over on that occasion, to his obvious disgust, but the tone had been set.
Conor Bradley also laid an early marker in his personal battle with Vinícius Júnior. Their duel captivated from the start and, as was the case last November, the Northern Ireland international thrived against the illustrious names from Madrid. Last season he ignited the Anfield crowd with a thunderous challenge on Kylian Mbappé. Now he engaged in a running feud with Vinícius that drove the Brazilian to distraction at times. The Real forward was booked for hauling down Bradley as he surged into the visiting half, showing excellent control of the ball as he did so, and later produced a pathetic dive inside the Liverpool area when accidentally, and lightly, touched in the face by the full back.
“One Conor Bradley” reverberated around the stadium although, of course, for more reason than the young defender’s finest display of the season. His predecessor’s return to Anfield following an acrimonious summer exit added another intriguing subplot to the evening. Alexander-Arnold was booed three times during the warmup – when first emerging back on to the pitch he once called home, when his name was announced among the Real substitutes and when heading back down the tunnel. It was not exactly an intimidating reception. The former favourite found time for a good laugh with Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo before pleasantries were put aside.
Liverpool would have led but for their ghost from the 2022 Champions League final, Thibaut Courtois, haunting them again just as he did in Paris. Wirtz seized on a careless touch by Huijsen to break free down the right and squared perfectly for Dominik Szoboszlai as he arrived unmarked in the area. Szoboszlai connected cleanly but Courtois spread himself superbly to save at point-blank range with his leg.
Liverpool’s disbelief turned to disgust when Szoboszlai next took aim at the Real goal. The midfielder’s drive from 22 yards out struck Aurélien Tchouaméni on the hand as he dived in to block. The referee Istvan Kovacs initially awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area but the France international was clearly inside when making contact with the ball. A spot-kick appeared imminent when Kovacs was sent to the pitch-side monitor by the video assistant referee but he rejected the penalty claim and overturned the free-kick. Tchouaméni’s arms were in a natural position, apparently. Anfield reacted with understandable fury.
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The controversy emboldened Slot’s side more than the Spanish league leaders. Giorgi Mamardashvili saved from Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler in quick succession but Courtois remained the busier keeper by far. Szoboszlai was denied twice by Real’s number one before the break, Mac Allister was foiled too, and Courtois’ one-man stand against Liverpool continued after the restart. Virgil van Dijk could only laugh when his close-range header from a Wirtz corner was tipped over. Courtois repeated the exercise when the resulting corner from Szoboszlai was headed goalwards by Hugo Ekitiké.
But Courtois’ resistance was finally broken after Bellingham conceded a free-kick with a foul on Ryan Gravenberch, for which he was booked. Szoboszlai swept over a powerful set-piece from the right – Alexander-Arnold might have taken it had he stayed – and Mac Allister broke free in a crowded area to bullet a header through the goalkeeper’s guard. VAR intervened again to check a potential offside against the goalscorer. Anfield would not be enraged this time.
