Real Madrid were unable to come away from Anfield with any points on the board. Our boys coped well with Liverpool's high-intensity approach for the opening quarter of an hour, though there were no chances of note at either end. As time wore on, Xabi Alonso's boys began to take control of the ball, but they struggled to cause any real threat. The first big chance of the game fell to the hosts, as Szobozslai went one-on-one with Courtois, who made himself big and did brilliantly to avoid the opening goal. That was the first duel in an ongoing battle between the two that would extend throughout the game. The next came in the form of two long-range efforts from the Hungarian midfielder, both expertly kept out by our goalkeeper's outstretched glove on 37’ and 43’.

With half an hour played, Szobozslai's strike from the edge of the box struck Tchouameni's hand inside the area, but the Frenchman's arm was close to his body. The referee István Kovács blew for a free-kick, but the move was reviewed by VAR and the official went to the monitor, only to overturn his initial decision and rule no foul of any kind. On 40’, Real Madrid looked for a penalty themselves, after Bradley caught Vini Jr. in the face as the Brazilian weaved his way into the box. Then, in first-half injury time, our team enjoyed their best chance yet. Bellingham danced past Konaté inside the box but his left-footed effort was well saved by Mamardashvili.

After the break, Courtois was at it again, this time producing two superb saves to turn behind headers by Van Dijk and Ekitiké in quick succession. Real Madrid's response came eleven minutes later, as Carreras evaded the attentions of two defends and pulled the ball across the six-yard box, but nobody was on hand to turn it home. The game became an uphill battle with 61 minutes played as Mac Allister headed a Szoboszlai free-kick into the back of the net.
Mbappé chance
From that point on, Xabi Alonso's boys took control of possession once more, looking to cause problems to the home defence. The closest they came to a leveller was with Mbappé's snap-shot on 75’, which whistled just wide of the upright. Up the other end, it could have been 2-0 when Gakpo struck from inside the six-yard box, but Courtois stood tall once again on 86’. Our team pushed on in search of an equaliser in the closing stages but it just failed to materialise.