Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister headed the second-half winner as the home side secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Real Madrid on Tuesday in a battle of European giants, handing the La Liga leaders their first Champions League defeat this season.
Arne Slot’s men climbed to sixth place in the table after four games in the league phase with nine points, one place below Real, which is equal on points but leads on goal difference.
Liverpool, who halted a dreadful four-match Premier League losing streak three days earlier, fought from the start and kept Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on his toes before Mac Allister finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute.
Dominik Szoboszlai, who was excellent all evening, scored a beautiful free-kick and the Argentinian rose highest to head home to thrill Anfield.
Liverpool briefly celebrated what they thought was a penalty in the first half when Szoboszlai fired the ball off Aurelien Tchouameni’s arm, but the referee ruled there had been no handball after a VAR review.
“I think it was a good game against a very good team,” Mac Allister told Amazon Prime. «(Courtois) is a fantastic goalkeeper, we all know that. He had a few saves, so again, I think he’s a very good goalkeeper, but today I think we were better and deserved to win.»
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Szoboszlai had some great opportunities that night.
Courtois stopped what could have been a simple tap-in from Florian Wirtz’s cross when he raised a leg to stop Szoboszlai’s shot in the first half. The Hungarian forced a few more diving saves from Courtois before half-time.
Real’s best chance before half-time was Jude Bellingham’s shot from a tight angle, which Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili got a foot on.
Kylian Mbappé squandered a big chance for Real in the second half when he shot wide of the far post.
Liverpool looked certain to take a 2-0 lead in the final minutes when Mo Salah found Cody Gakpo in front of goal, but Courtois made another brilliant save and Salah’s follow-up was blocked.
Former Liverpool player Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left for Real in the final season, was a late substitute and was booed mercilessly every time he touched the ball.
“We came here to try to win,” Federico Valverde told the Spanish broadcaster MovistarPlus. «It’s a very difficult pitch, they press hard, we had chances and so did they, and we dropped three points because of a set piece that we have to defend better.»
Published on November 5, 2025
