Football Today
·28 November 2024
Football Today
·28 November 2024
Liverpool finally broke the Real Madrid curse with a 2-0 victory at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Reds maintained their flawless start in the 2024/25 European campaign, taking their tally to five wins out of five.
Liverpool simply outclassed Madrid, who have now lost three of their five games.
After failing to beat them in their previous eight attempts, including two Champions League finals, this victory was very special for the Reds.
Alexis MacAllister and Cody Gakpo scored in the second half, while Mohamed Salah missed a penalty in an eventful game at Anfield.
Caoimhin Kelleher saved a penalty to deny Kylian Mbappe, while Arne Slot described Curtis Jones as ‘outstanding‘.
It was a special night for Conor Bradley, who started for the first time in this competition.
The 21-year-old right-back was fearless, and he made a crunching tackle on Mbappe.
In the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the young defender looked like his perfect replacement. He registered an assist for the opening goal and looked dangerous every time he ran with the ball.
The Times described him as ‘superb’, and the Daily Mail gave him a 9/10 rating. The Athletic noted that he played a ‘sublime’ pass to MacAllister which led to the goal.
Bradley and Ibrahima Konate picked up injuries towards the end of the match, and they looked in pain.
The full-back appeared to suffer a hamstring injury in the 87th minute, and he could be out for the crucial Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday.
Alexander-Arnold was an unused substitute against Madrid, and he should be able to return.