Liverpool End Their Woes Against Real Madrid and Remain the Champions League Leaders
Liverpool maintained their lead in the unified group of the UEFA Champions League by securing theur fifth consecutive victory, defeating defending champions Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield in the fifth-round finale.
With this win, Liverpool ended a streak of consecutive setbacks against Real Madrid, having not beaten them in their last eight meetings, including the Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022.
The “Reds” sealed their victory in the second half with goals from Argentine Alexis Mac Allister (52) and Dutch substitute Cody Gakpo (77). Egyptian star Mohamed Salah missed a penalty in the 70th minute, following a missed penalty by Real Madrid’s French star Kylian Mbappé in the 61st minute.
Liverpool raised their tally to 15 points and reclaimed the top spot, two points ahead of Italian side Inter Milan, who beat German club RB Leipzig 1-0 on Tuesday in the opening game of the round.
The Premier League leaders continued their impressive form locally and in Europe, extending their unbeaten streak to 15 matches across all competitions, including six consecutive wins. Their last loss dates back to September 14, when they fell to Nottingham Forest 0-1 in the league.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid, the record holders with 15 Champions League titles, suffered their third defeat, following losses to Lille (0-1) and AC Milan (1-3), leaving them with just six points in 24th place, the final spot qualifying for the playoff stage.
The absence of Real’s Brazilian winger and top scorer in the competition, Vinícius Júnior (four goals), due to injury, was evident, as was the failure of new signing Mbappé to create any real danger against Irish goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, who delivered a standout performance with multiple saves to keep a clean sheet.
Juventus Stumbles Again
Juventus faced another setback, drawing 0-0 with English side Aston Villa.
This marked the third consecutive game in which Juventus failed to secure a win after a perfect start with two straight victories, bringing their tally to eight points in 19th place.
In contrast, Borussia Dortmund, last season’s runners-up, continued their resurgence with a second consecutive victory and fourth overall in the competition, beating Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb 3-0. The goals were scored by England’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (41), Algeria’s Ramy Bensebaini (56), and Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy (90).
Monaco suffered a loss to Benfica, 2-3.
Moroccan international Eliesse Ben Seghir gave Monaco the lead in the 13th minute, but Benfica equalized through Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis (48). Despite the dismissal of Monaco’s Ivorian defender Wilfried Singo for a second yellow card (58), substitute Soungoutou Magassa restored Monaco’s lead (67). However, Benfica scored twice late on through Brazilian Arthur Cabral (84) and Swiss Zeki Amdouni (88), with both goals assisted by Argentine veteran Ángel Di María.
Bologna fell to French side Lille 1-2.
Lille owed their third victory to Congolese midfielder Ngalael Mukau, who scored twice (44, 66), while Colombian Jhon Lucumí scored Bologna’s goal (63). Lille now has 10 points, ranking 12th, compared to Bologna’s single point.
PSV Eindhoven staged a comeback against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, overturning a two-goal deficit scored by Danylo Sikan (8) and Oleksandr Zubkov (37) to win 3-2 with goals from Americans Malik Tillman (87, 90) and Ricardo Pepi (90+5).
Both Sturm Graz of Austria and Red Star Belgrade of Serbia secured their first victories. Sturm Graz defeated Spanish side Girona 1-0, with Danish player Mika Biereth scoring (59), while Red Star Belgrade crushed German side Stuttgart 5-1 with goals from Silas Mvumpa (12), Rade Krunić (31), Mirko Ivanić (65), and Nemanja Radonjić (69, 88). Stuttgart’s only goal came from Ermedin Demirović (5).
Scottish side Celtic drew 1-1 with Belgian club Club Brugge. Japanese forward Daizen Maeda scored for Celtic (60), while American Cameron Carter-Vickers scored an own goal (26) to give Brugge their equalizer.
