Liverpool back to their best to beat Real Madrid

Liverpool were back to their best as they dominated Real Madrid with an outstanding performance to secure a crucial Champions League victory at Anfield.

Arne Slot's Premier League champions ended a spell of six defeats in seven games with a win against Aston Villa on Saturday, and the revival continued as Real were overpowered.

Liverpool's victory was far more convincing than the scoreline suggests, with Alexis Mac Allister finally breaking the deadlock in the second half as former Reds defender Trent Alexander-Arnold watched from the bench with his new side strictly second best.

Only the brilliance of Real keeper Thibaut Courtois kept Liverpool at bay, with a string of superb saves, including four from Dominik Szoboszlai and a brilliant reflex stop from Virgil van Dijk's header.

Courtois was powerless to stop Liverpool finally getting the goal their superiority deserved when Mac Allister stole in to head home from Szoboszlai's free-kick after 61 minutes.

Alexander-Arnold came on late in the game, amid a storm of booing from the Liverpool fans who once idolised him, but he was unable to fashion a breakthrough as Real - with Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe subdued - unable to deny Slot's team an important three points.

Liverpool analyis: Outstanding Bradley leads charge

Conor Bradley has long been regarded as the heir apparent to the vacancy left behind by Alexander-Arnold, and the 22-year-old Northern Ireland defender showed exactly why with an outstanding display.

Liverpool's fans revelled in Bradley's physical battle with Vinicius Jr, chanting his name to the echo while reserving their fury for the local boy who left Anfield behind.

Bradley's progress has been curtailed by injuries, but he was the symbol of a Liverpool display which carried all the old intensity and creation that deserted them during their recent run of losses.

Szoboszlai was outstanding in midfield, only denied by the brilliance of Courtois, while match-winner Mac Allister's return to form in the last two games has also transformed a side that looked lost earlier this season.

Liverpool's defence never yielded to Real at any point, and it was only when Courtois was at his defiant best that it looked like the Reds might not get the win that pushes them up into sixth in the table, a standing that would earn them automatic passage into the last 16 without the need for a play-off.

Real Madrid analysis: Bellingham subdued as serial winners fall short

Bellingham had the perfect stage to deliver a reminder of his quality after his recent much-discussed exclusion from head coach Thomas Tuchel's England squad.

Bellingham has been in form as Real lead La Liga, but he was largely anonymous as Liverpool controlled the game for virtually its entirety, apart from one breakthrough in the first half when he forced keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to save with his feet.

In the end, like the rest of his team-mates, Bellingham was simply unable to make any serious impact in a disappointing display from the visitors.

Courtois showed why many place him alongside Liverpool keeper Alisson as the best in the world with a stunning display that threatened to earn his side a point they would not have deserved.

Vinicius was dominated by Bradley, while Mbappe was marginalised in an error-strewn performance.

It was an unhappy return to Anfield for Alexander-Arnold, who was given a fiercely hostile reception when he came on as substitute, while it was also a night of frustration for Real coach and former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who could only watch on powerless as his team subsided.