Liverpool made it six straight wins (and 12 out their last 13, all unbeaten), as they topped Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday, heading into their massive Premier League title showdown with Manchester City on Sunday (11 am ET).
They. Are. Ready.
[ MORE: UEFA Champions League table, leading scorers ]
A sleepy first half gave way to an action-packed final 45. Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored after the break, while Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah each failed to score from the penalty spot. Mbappe was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher in the 61st minute, before Salah smashed his wide of goal nine minutes later.
The victory puts Liverpool (15 points, +11 GD) back atop the UEFA Champions League table as the only side with a 100-percent record after five games.
Real Madrid aren’t going to miss the knockout rounds… are they?
With just three games left in the league phase, Real Madrid sit 24th out of 36 teams, right on the cut line to reach the knockout rounds. A top-8 spot (and a first round bye) has already gone after losing three of their first five in the new Champions League format. 2W-0D-3L. 0 GD. 6 points.
Madrid are currently without six hugely important starters — Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal — leaving them terribly short on numbers defensively and with just (just, he said) Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham to work their magic on the counter. With just one experienced senior center to select, Carlo Ancelotti has to set his team up much more conservatively than a typical Real Madrid team, and that comes at the expense of the attack, where they’re already less of a threat without Vinicius and Rodrygo’s pace, let alone with everything behind him designed to protect the defense. What’s “between a rock and a hard place” in Italian? That’s Don Carlo right now.
Player ratings - Liverpool vs Real Madrid
What’s next?
- Liverpool vs Manchester City — Sunday (11 am ET)
- Girona vs Liverpool — Dec. 10 (next UCL fixture
- Real Madrid vs Getafe — Sunday
- Atalanta vs Real Madrid — Dec. 10 (next UCL fixture)
Liverpool vs Real Madrid live updates - by Andy Edwards
Liverpool vs Real Madrid final score: 2-0
Goalscorers: Alexis Mac Allister (52'), Cody Gakpo (76')
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid: Cody Gakpo heads home Andy Robertson’s cross (76')
CODY GAKPO SCORES MINUTES AFTER ENTERING THE FIELD 💥 pic.twitter.com/8i6bfZTNL0
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 27, 2024
Real Madrid are simply out of gas and wanted no part of defending this corner-kick routine. No one got close to Robertson to deny the cross, no one jumped with Gakpo to head it away. Easy as could be.
PENALTY MISS! Mohamed Salah smashes it wide after winning the spot kick (70')
MO SALAH MISSES FROM THE PENALTY SPOT 😳 pic.twitter.com/xnPIacPU4b
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 27, 2024
What are the odds of Mbappe and Salah missing penalties in the same game?
PENALTY SAVE! Caoimhin Kelleher denies Kylian Mbappe from the spot (61')
KELLEHER SAVES MBAPPE'S PENALTY ❌ pic.twitter.com/dWqmmASJ50
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 27, 2024
Andy Robertson caught Lucas Vazquez late as he dribbled by him, but Mbappe’s penalty was quite poor and Kelleher made the save quite easily. Massive let-off for Robertson and the Reds.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid: Alexis Mac Allister fits a bouncing shot through traffic to break the deadlock (52')
MAC ALLISTER FINISHES A LOVELY MOVE FROM LIVERPOOL TO HIT REAL MADRID EARLY IN THE SECOND HALF ⚡ pic.twitter.com/7iYRlrN9Vg
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 27, 2024
Finally, we have a goal and Madrid will be forced to go for it, which should open this game up nicely for the final 35 minutes.
Halftime! It’s 0-0 between Liverpool, Real Madrid - HT stats:
Possession: 66-34
Shots: 6-5
On target: 3-0
Passes: 310-148
xG: 0.46-0.12
The closest thing to a goal in the first half wasn’t technically a shot, so it doesn’t even register for xG purposes, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, Liverpool had just one dangerous chance in the 23rd minute, when the ball fell to Nunez six yards out and he fired it right down the middle at Courtois.
Thibaut Courtois busy in the first half, with three saves (so far)
We’re 35 minutes in and Courtois is doing everything in his power to keep Real Madrid level. Since denying Nunez and narrowly avoiding an own goal in the opening minutes, Courtois again stopped Nunez from six yards out and just made a sprawling save to push Luis Diaz’s looping header wide of goal. Caoimhin Kelleher is yet to face a shot on target in Liverpool’s goal. Real Madrid have hardly had a shot from inside the penalty area and really struggled to get anything going offensively — even on the counter.
GOAL-LINE CLEARANCE! Raul Asencio nearly scores an own goal on his Champions League debut (5')
Mohamed Salah played Darwin Nunez in behind Real Madrid’s defense and the Uruguayan fired a low shot that was saved by Thibaut Courtois. The ball came off Courtois and struck defender Raul Asencio as he raced back into the six, but Asencio continued his spring and cleared it away just before it crossed the line. Asencio, who has just 150 minutes of first-team experience for Real Madrid, was forced into the starting lineup with Eder Militao, David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni all out injured.
Liverpool starting lineup
Kelleher - Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson - Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones - Salah, Diaz, Nunez
Real Madrid starting lineup
Courtois - Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy - Camavinga, Modric, Bellingham - Guler, Mbappe, Diaz
How to watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Wednesday (November 27)
Venue: Anfield — Liverpool
How to watch: Stream on Paramount+ and TUDN USA
Liverpool team news, focus
Alisson, Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota are still out but are close to a return from injury, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is pushing hard to return this week and is in the squad. Kostas Tsimikas is a doubt. Liverpool are very likely to go with the same team that started at Southampton, aside from Luis Diaz maybe coming in for Darwin Nunez up top. Alexis Mac Allister could also start ahead of Curtis Jones but it feels like a very settled Liverpool team right now and Slot won’t change much.
Real Madrid team news, focus
Vinicius being out is a huge loss for Real Madrid and it puts more pressure on Mbappe and Bellingham to lead Real’s attack. Rodrygo is still out but is close to a return, so Brazilian teenager Endrick may be called upon from the bench with Brahim Diaz most likely to start in attack. Luka Modric may come in to start and play 60 minutes as Real could use his experience to calm things down at Anfield. With Carvajal and Militao out at the back and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni also injured, Ancelotti will be without seven regulars. Real are stretched to their limits.
