Match Report
Liverpool were 1-0 winners over Real Madrid in Tuesday night's Champions League clash at Anfield.
Just as he did 12 months ago, Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring against the Spaniards in the second half, here with a fine header.
On this occasion, a single goal was enough for Arne Slot's men to defeat Real, making it nine points from four games in the league phase.
Team
Slot opted for one change to his starting XI from last weekend, and it brought Florian Wirtz into the side.
The summer signing replaced Cody Gakpo and was deployed to the left of Liverpool's front three.
First half
The teams emerged to a cauldron of noise inside Anfield to herald the 13th meeting of two of the continent's most-storied clubs.
The frantic early exchanges, with the Reds turned to attack towards the Kop, did not lead to a chance until minute 10.
That came from Wirtz harrying Dean Huijsen off the ball on the byline. Possession was fed back to Dominik Szoboszlai and then Mac Allister, whose first-time strike was sliced off target.
Kylian Mbappe skied a finish at the other end as Real responded with a slick counter-attack involving Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham.
That effort preceded a spell of control from the visitors, but they needed their goalkeeper just prior to the half-hour.
A tackle on the flank sent a loose ball to Wirtz in a fortuitous amount of space on the right and he rolled a pass into the middle for an unmarked Szoboszlai.
However, Thibaut Courtois sprung from his net and spread his body to get a block on the Liverpool No.8's finish.
A lengthy VAR check followed an incident in which a Szoboszlai drive was blocked at the edge of the box by Aurelien Tchouameni.
Having initially awarded the Reds a free-kick, the referee was sent to the monitor to review. He ultimately decided there had been no handball.
Slot's men were now firmly in the ascendancy and a low Szoboszlai shot was plucked in by Courtois next.
The Hungarian and Belgian continued their one-on-one battle when the former thumped another effort that the latter gloved away.
Giorgi Mamardashvili delivered when called upon, too, blocking Bellingham from close range after he had shimmied into the area.
Courtois got strong hands on a Mac Allister blast as the half concluded goalless.
Second half
The visiting stopper was at it again within minutes of the restart, denying both Virgil van Dijk and Hugo Ekitike from headers.
His latest duel with Szoboszlai was a save from a free-kick strike, but the dam was about to yield.
Szoboszlai arced in a set-piece from the right channel and Mac Allister met it with a crisp header that, this time, evaded Courtois' clutches.
Mbappe side-footed just wide of the right post when picked out by Vinicius after his dart into space down the left-hand side.
It had become a more cat-and-mouse affair by this stage, with Liverpool keeping Real largely at arm's length.
Courtois, meanwhile, thwarted substitute Cody Gakpo with a reaction stop and Mohamed Salah's rebound was blocked at the last.
But one proved enough for the Reds to clinch back-to-back victories and clean sheets.
SOURCE: www.liverpoolfc.com
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