There was plenty of action and drama in the Champions League this week, but one of the biggest games between two football giants was Liverpool’s game with Real Madrid. These are two teams that have a bit of a modern-day rivalry in the Champions League, with Madrid beating Liverpool in two recent finals and knocking them out of the competition four times in the past seven years.
But it was Liverpool who came away from this one victorious.
Arne Slot’s reboot has been impressive with the Reds leading the Premier League table and the European table under the new Champions League format. They now have the only 100% record in the competition after the 2-0 win over Real Madrid made it five wins in five games.
Mbappe’s penalty miss was a huge moment in the game, while Salah also missed a penalty at the other end of the pitch minutes later. Liverpool were the better team and Madrid didn’t look like winning at any point in the game.
Liverpool controlled the game and didn’t look like getting in trouble, especially from the fast counters that Madrid are known for. Slot had a clear plan and took advantage of a team that had a lot of injuries at the back and up top. As much as anything the result will be another big confidence boost for Liverpool.
Their Premier League rivals Man City were handed another shock result, losing a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord. City looked like they were cruising at 3-0 up but self-destructed with some defensive mistakes to concede three second-half goals. The Etihad was shell shocked and it was another night to forget, with City conceding two or more goals in six successive matches in all competitions for the first time since 1963.
Aston Villa thought they had earned a famous victory against Juventus with a goal in the last minute of stoppage time, but it was ruled out by VAR. It still looks like a good result on paper against the Italian giants, but Emery’s team are now winless in seven matches after a fast start to the season, so they do need to find their form.
Elsewhere PSV kept believing and came back in dramatic style against 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk, winning 3-2 from two goals down in the 87th minute, while Benfica also came from behind twice against Monaco, scoring two late headers to earn their own 3-2 away win.
I’m already looking forward to the next round of games. #mmlove