Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema Seal Real Madrid 5-2 Win Against Liverpool

Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema both struck twice as Real Madrid hit back from two down to claim a sensational 5-2 victory at Liverpool in a devastating first leg performance in their Champions League last-16 tie at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s side had initially looked up to the challenge and roared out the traps with Darwin Nunez opening the scoring courtesy of a sublime backheel flick from Mo Salah’s low pass.

The Egyptian then doubled the home side’s lead on 14 minutes when he capitalised on a howler from goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois. It was Salah’s 42nd goal for Liverpool in the competition, which saw him become the club’s all-time leading scorer in Europe.

Real had looked set to be blown away at this juncture, but soon recovered and reduced the arrears on 21 minutes when a piece of individual genius resulted in Vinicius thundering a wonderful effort into the far corner from the left side of the box.

The 22-year-old Real forward then silenced Anfield 15 minutes later when he inadvertently deflected Alisson’s dreadful attempt at a pass to the right flank into an empty net.

It had been a breathless, even spectacle up to the interval but the visitors moved up a gear in the second period and ripped through the Merseysiders at will.

First, Eder Militao headed home Luka Modric’s left-wing free-kick on 47 minutes before Benzema pretty much put the tie out of sight.

The Frenchman saw his first goal deflect in off Joe Gomez and then helped himself to a double 23 minutes from time when he side-stepped Alisson to gleefully fire into an empty net following another ruthless counter attack.

The result leaves Liverpool with an absolute mountain to climb ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, March 15.

Klopp’s men will now turn their attention back to their push for a top-four spot when they visit Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. Real host Atletico in the Madrid derby.

TALKING POINT

Real leave Kopites heartbroken once again.

For 15 minutes or so it looked like Anfield was going to conjure up one of those famous nights under the lights.

Instead, it went from the dream start at 2-0 into a very real nightmare that will go down as more of an infamous moment in Liverpool’s history as they shipped five goals in a home European tie for the first time ever.

It’s hard to distinguish whether the European champions were that good or if it was just that the Reds were so bad in the second period, but the swagger of Los Blancos and the way they ruthlessly tore through the hosts’ high line gave credence to Carlo Ancelotti’s pre-match words, that they were probably better equipped to win the Champions League this season than they were last term.

The Spanish giants look all-but certain to continue their quest for a 15th European crown with the blend of experience and raw, young talent rising to the surface once again when it comes to the continent’s premier stage.

As for Liverpool, it’s a painful backward step after signs they were returning to some semblance of their old form in the last couple of weeks.

The post-mortem won’t be pleasant with the push for the top four now the priority as any recovery from here would surely surpass the feats of Istanbul in 2005 and the memorable 4-0 second-leg turnaround against Barcelona in 2019.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid). The Brazilian seems to love playing against Liverpool and conjured up a moment of brilliance to get his side back in it when the hosts looked set to take a firm grip at 2-0. The forward’s pace was a major threat throughout and the Merseysiders won’t look forward to coming up against him again when they reconvene in the Bernabeu for the second leg.