Champions League: Liverpool’s attack made Real Madrid look ordinary in a 2-0 win
Doug McIntyre
Soccer reporter
There are only three rounds of “league” play left in this season’s regular season UEFA Champions League following the conclusion of Matchday 5 on Wednesday.
Liverpool – the best team in all of Europe under new manager Arne Slot – and current cup holders (and record 15-time winners) Real Madrid contested what was called the first round match at Anfield. The Reds took all three points and regained top spot with a convincing 2-0 win to stay perfect in November.
Elsewhere in England, Aston Villa and Italian powerhouse Juventus finished without a point. Meanwhile, Bundesliga and La Liga sides have suffered impressive defeats against lackluster foes, while Borussia Dortmund, Lille and Shakhtar Donetsk have all won tough games along the way.
Here are three quick thoughts following Wednesday’s action.
Beaten Liverpool get convincing win over Real Madrid
This tent competition certainly did not disappoint. Two of world football’s highest-ranking clubs provided a spectacle worthy of admiration – even without the first-half goals to show for the final action on Merseyside.
Backed by their rabid fans at the Kop, however, the Reds were the better team. And they deservedly took the lead through World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister six minutes after the break.
Liverpool playback Andy Robertson almost wasted it, however, awarding Real a penalty. But they were released by another world champion, the French star, Kylian Mbappé, who started living a nightmare with him. Los Blancos continued when his weak effort from 12 yards was easily beaten by Reds backstop Caoimhin Kelleher:
Not even a single kick (after being robbed, Mohamed Salah sent his effort wide of Thibaut Courtois’ post) could disturb the hosts tonight. Cody Gakpo soon made it 2-0 with an effort from the Reds’ 14th shot, more than double what Real needed at that point, to give Liverpool a memorable victory that sent the visitors to 24th place out of 36 teams.
Only the top 16 qualify for the knockout stage, making Real’s December 10 trip to Italy’s Atalanta a must-win affair.
Aston Villa denied a late win against Juventus
A Top 10 Champions League team all season, Villa faced another tough test on Wednesday at the home of Italy’s most decorated club. In stark contrast to the more open competition that unfolded over 100 miles in Liverpool, this one was as cagey as they come.
I mean, again. The final tally shows little difference between the two foes, so perhaps it’s fitting that the tilt ended scoreless after 90 minutes.
However, Villa will feel they left two points on the table – or took them away, depending on one’s opinion – after Morgan Rogers appeared to convert the stoppage-time winner. The expected goal hit the roof of Villa Park. But upon review, it was overruled by the video assistant referee, who ruled that defender Diego Carlos had fouled Juve goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio, causing Di Gregorio to waste the ball for Rogers to tap home.
Two groups of ‘five hundred’ faced trauma
The home field advantage is perhaps more pronounced than in the classic Champions League format, where participants are drawn into four groups and play six first-round matches – three at home and three away.
The imbalance of this year’s program probably favors the underdog. It no doubt helped Red Star Belgrade of Austria and Sturm Graz of Serbia on Wednesday.
The former hammered the wheels of German visitors Stuttgart, scoring five goals in a row after falling behind early in a 5-1 win – one that snapped the hosts’ four-game Champions League losing streak. They managed a 1-0 win over Spanish side Girona, although it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t deserved: despite having 30 percent of the ball, Sturm Graz outscored the visitors with five goals. shots to Spain’s 1, including Mika Biereth’s winner in the 58th minute.
In the end, US defender Cameron Carter-Vickers was rescued by Celtic striker Daizen Maeda, whose brilliant half-time finish led to the American’s stunning goal in a 1-1 draw with Belgian club Club Brugge.
Carter-Vickers’ USMNT teammate Malik Tillman also scored on Wednesday, albeit for his team. Tillman scored two goals of his own as PSV Eindhoven beat Shakhtar 3-2. Ricardo Pepi scored the winning goal.
Doug McIntyre is a football reporter for FOX Sports. A staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in FIFA World Cup competitions on five continents. Follow him @by DougMcIntyre.
UEFA Champions League
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Liverpool
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