Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid:The stunned Reds are TORN APART by Champions League holders Real Madrid at Anfield, with Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema both scoring twice after the hosts took an early 2-0 lead.

 

2-5 Liverpool The term "Cruise" refers to the process by which a person or group of people travel to a location to see if they can see a movie or go to a concert.

Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead 2-0 at Anfield on Tuesday, but Vinicius Junior equalized before halftime, and Real took control after the break with three goals.

RECAP: The holders of the Champions League rip Liverpool apart as Vinicius and Benzema both run riot.

Real Madrid's young France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga spoke about the spirit that drives Europe's champions on the eve of the club's arrival in England this week. He discussed how La Remontada, or the comeback, is ingrained in Real Madrid lore. 'People think Madrid is dead, but Madrid is never, never dead,' Camavinga said.

He was referring to last season, when Carlo Ancelotti's team staged a series of epic comebacks on their way to the Champions League final against Liverpool. Two goals down with half an hour to go in the round of 16 against PSG, they were also 10 minutes away from elimination against Chelsea in the last eight. They were two goals down against Manchester City after 89 minutes and won.

Liverpool started the first leg of this second round tie so brightly, irresistibly, and fiercely last night at Anfield that when they went two goals up inside 14 minutes, all hopes of Madrid rallying vanished. Anfield is a place where other teams, not Liverpool, stage comebacks. Anfield, particularly on European nights, is a place where Liverpool crushes opponents' dreams, not the other way around. Camavinga's warnings drifted away into the night air, towards the Mersey.

Liverpool were outstanding in the first 20 minutes. It was as if the rest of the season's difficulties had never occurred. It was as if the three goals conceded to Brentford, Brighton, and Wolves since the turn of the year had never occurred. They were a reborn team. Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, their new signings, were outstanding. Madrid appeared to be doomed. Nunez scored a brilliantly bold opener, and Thibault Courtois' blunder gifted Mo Salah a second.

With 42 goals, he surpassed Steven Gerrard as the club's all-time leading European goalscorer, and it felt like this was going to be one of the great Anfield nights. Despite the fact that they were all second legs, memories of the famous quarter-final against Saint-Etienne in 1977, the 'ghost goal' against Chelsea in 2005, and that magical evening against Barcelona in 2019 flooded back.

Vinicius Junior (pictured) and Karim Benzema both scored twice as Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 5-2 on Tuesday night.

After only four minutes, Darwin Nunez gave Liverpool the lead at Anfield by capping a superb attacking move.

After 14 minutes, Mohamed Salah capitalized on a rare error by Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0.

But Madrid will never, ever die. In fact, compared to some of last season's comebacks, this one was relatively routine. Vinicius Jr, who scored the game-winning goal in last season's final, tormented Liverpool down the right flank and brought his team back into the game with a brilliant first goal. 'That gave us wind beneath our wings,' said Courtois after the game. The Brazilian, who was clearly the man of the match, equalized before halftime after Alisson made a terrible mistake.

Madrid were simply in a different league after the break. Liverpool was taught a lesson. They brought them low. They moved the ball around them and picked them off as they pleased. They made Klopp's team appear inept. They blew them away with their quality and class. In midfield, Luka Modric was the star. Vinicius subjected Liverpool to torture. Benzema shifted smoothly through the gears. This competition has been won 14 times by them. They'll be favorites to make it 15 in Istanbul in early June after last night's performance.

Liverpool may be on the mend, but they are still a long way from being at their best. Jurgen Klopp's side were humiliated 5-2, and the prospect of staging their own comeback in the second leg at the Estadio Bernabeu three weeks from now appears to be a pipe dream. They might as well leave Europe. What remains for them this season is to try to reclaim a place in this competition by finishing in the top four of the Premier League.

Liverpool have now lost six of their last seven games against Madrid - they drew the other - and a bad taste remains from the most recent of those defeats, their 1-0 loss in last season's Champions League final at the Stade de France, where the feeling of resentment stems from the treatment of Liverpool's fans by Uefa and the French authorities on an evening that could have easily turned tragic. '**** Uefa,' the home crowd chanted repeatedly last night.

Liverpool got off to a fast start. They charged into Madrid from the start. a spokesman for the spokesman. They did score after three minutes. Henderson spread the ball to Salah on the right, and his cross into the box was met by an extravagant flick from Nunez that caught Courtois off guard and nestled in the back of the net.

Cordite filled the air, either from a firework or from the heat of Liverpool's ignition. They were nearly two minutes ahead after ten minutes. Cody Gakpo, bursting with confidence, took the ball brilliantly on the half-turn and shrugged off Eduardo Camavinga's attention before passing to Salah. Salah charged at the Madrid defense, jinked through them, and fired just wide.

Liverpool doubled their lead two minutes later. Dani Carvajal hit a long, high backpass to Courtois under pressure from Gakpo. Courtois took it down on his chest, but as Salah closed in on him, the Real Madrid goalkeeper's eye was taken off the ball, and it bounced off his knee and into the path of the Egypt striker, who slotted it back past him into the net to set a new record.

Nunez's early goal gave Liverpool the advantage in the first leg of their crucial Champions League last-16 tie on Merseyside.

Vinicius, on the other hand, brought the European champions back into the game before halftime, first with this outstanding finish.

MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 4; Alexander-Arnold 5, Gomez 5 (Matip 73min), Van Dijk 5, Robertson 5; Henderson 6 (Milner 73), Fabinho 5, Bajcetic 6 (Elliott 85); Salah 6, Gakpo 6 (Firmino 64), Nunez 6 (Jota 64). Scorers: Nunez 4, Salah 14.

Booked: None.

Manager: Jurgen Klopp 5.

REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Courtois 5; Carvajal 7, Militao 7, Rudiger 7, Alaba 5 (Nacho 27); Valverde 8, Camavinga 8, Modric 8.5 (Kroos 87); Rodrygo 7, Benzema 8 (Asensio 87), Vinicius Jr 9. Scorers: Vinicius Jr 21, 36, Militao 47, Benzema 55, 67.

Booked: Vinicius Jr.

Manager: Carlo Ancelotti 7.5.

Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Romania) 6

The Brazilian added nine minutes before the break to stun Anfield and tie the game going into the break. 

After the break, Eder Militao put Carlo Ancelotti's side ahead by heading home while unmarked inside Liverpool's box.

Madrid gained a foothold in the game midway through the first half. Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema exchanged passes near the Liverpool box, and Vinicius Jr found enough space to arrow a fierce shot across Alisson and into the far corner of the net. It was a brilliant, scorching blow. Anfield was deafeningly quiet.

The game was a whirlwind. Two minutes later, Liverpool came agonizingly close to adding a third goal. Alexander-Arnold picked out Henderson's brilliant run, and when he cut it back from the goalline, chaos ensued in the Madrid box. Salah attempted to backheel it into the net, and when it broke free, Nunez attempted to smash it over the line, only for Carvajal to save his team with a block tackle on the line.

Alisson made a stunning diving save to keep out another stinging effort from Vincius Jr, but the Liverpool goalkeeper then gifted the visitors an equalizer ten minutes before halftime. The Liverpool fans had been booing Courtois mercilessly every time the ball was played back to him, but when Joe Gomez played the ball back to Alisson, Alisson attempted to pass it to safety, and the ball cannoned off Vinicius Jr's right shin and bounced high into the net.

The second half began similarly to the first. With no time to catch your breath. Madrid took the lead after two minutes. Gomez was found to have fouled Vinicius Jr on the Liverpool goalline just outside the box. Eder Militao peeled away from his marker and steered a bullet header past Alisson from point-blank range after Modric drilled the ball into the area. It was far too easy and straightforward. It was another example of the poor defending that has cost Liverpool so dearly so often this season.

Madrid quickly gained ground. They were now playing with swagger and style, leaving Liverpool in the dust. From a corner, the visitors cleverly worked the ball into the box, Benzema and Vinicius exchanged passes, and when Benzema slid a weak left foot shot goalwards, Alisson had it covered comfortably until it took a cruel deflection off Gomez and bounced apologetically into the net.

Benzema scored his fifth goal midway through the first half. It only took one erroneous touch from Fabinho in midfield. Modric was on it in an instant and stole it. He passed the ball to Vinicius Jr, who passed it to Benzema inside. Benzema feinted to shoot and sat Alisson on the turf, then took it past him and stroked a left foot shot past the defenders massing on the line. It was the final flourish of a masterclass in Madrid.

Benzema then doubled his team's lead with a deflected effort that flew past Reds goalkeeper Alisson and into the net.

Benzema later added his second and Real Madrid's fifth goal of the night, compounding Liverpool's woes and putting them out of sight.

Due to the France striker's second goal of the evening, Liverpool will need to make up three goals against Real Madrid on March 15.

Final results were disheartening for Jurgen Klopp's team, who will face a difficult challenge in the championship game scheduled for next month.