The mystique of Real Madrid: they reversed a bad start and thrashed Liverpool

At Anfield Road, the ‘merengue’ team, winner of 14 titles in the highest continental competition, built a resounding victory that allows them to put more than one foot in the next instance of the contest.

The team led by the Italian Carlo Ancelotti started badly and in less than a quarter of an hour was 0-2 down, with goals from the Uruguayan Darwin Núñez (Pt. 4m.) and the Egyptian Mohamed Salah (Pt. 14m.), after a rude mistake by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

A flurry from the Brazilian Vinicius Junior (Pt. 21m. and 36m.) allowed him to equalize the Spanish cast, even when his British counterpart exercised -still- control of the actions.

And in the second half, the defender Eder Militao (St. 2m.) put his head into a set piece maneuver to put the ‘white’ team ahead 3-2.

Already in the development of the second half, the Frenchman Karim Benzemá delivered -once again- his credentials as a relentless area animal to score twice (St. 10m. and 22m.) and crown an unprecedented success. Never before had a Liverpool team conceded five goals at home.

The frantic start of those directed by DT Jurgen Klopp made fear the worst for the ‘merengues’. The British team pressed very high, with Fabinho ahead, plus Alexander Arnold and Robertson trying to unbalance on the wings.

In that symphony of play that the British showed at the beginning, the goal from Uruguayan Núñez, after a perfect assist from Salah, seemed a logical attribute of a team that loomed superior.

At 14m, after a compromised qualification from Alaba backwards, goalkeeper Courtois made a mistake at the start, the ball went ahead of him after hitting his knee and the Egyptian Salah only had to push it to shout the second goal. Anfield Road, which had a deafening atmosphere, was preparing for the party.

Little by little, Real Madrid began to take the water out of the boat with the exclusive contribution of Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian attacker invented a shot from a difficult angle and reduced numbers, just past the 20m barrier.

And the Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker also made a childish mistake, when he finished off Vinicius’s body and bounced the ball off his Brazilian national teammate: the ball went gently into the net and the 2-2 was established, when they turned 36m.

In the second period, a set piece play set the tone for the game. A cross from Luka Modric found Militao’s head in the face of the passivity of the Liverpool defenders and Madrid, recent winner of the Club World Cup, went from 0-2 to 3-2, with the illusion of going for more.

Numb, the local team sought to turn history around, but lateralized the game too much and no longer found the gaps to break the Spanish defense.

And, on the contrary, the visiting team put deep lunges to sentence the story. At 10m, Benzemá put a shot into the area that deflected off Joe Gomes and dislodged Alisson to make it 2-4

And a while later, after a collective maneuver in which precision and speed were combined, the Uruguayan Federico Valverde (with a good second half) enabled Modric and the Croatian gave in to Benzema, who defined an empty goal to celebrate the fifth.

From there until the end, the film that was repeated was that of Liverpool wanting to shrink the scoreboard but without the necessary firepower and that of a crouching Real Madrid, with ‘blood in the eye’ as if to achieve a larger score.

Napoli and a triumph that excites him

The other round of 16 first leg that was played today also gave away an away victory. napolithe comfortable leader of Serie A, dispatched a convincing 2-0 win over eintracht frankfurtin Germany.

The team led by Luciano Spalletti once again showed that it is one of the best players on the continent.

The Nigerian Victor Osimhen (Pt. 40m.) opened the account, after the Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the other figure of the Italian south team, wasted a penalty kick that was caught by the local goalkeeper, Kevin Trapp (Pt. 36m.)

Already in the second half, the club that changed Diego Maradona forever in the ’80s increased the advantage with a conquest by Giovanni Di Lorenzo (St. 20m.), after a transfer of a cue from Kvaratskhelia.

Forward Randall Kolo Muani, the Frenchman to whom Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez saved a key shot in extra time of the Qatar 2022 World Cup final, was sent off at Eintracht Frankfurt, who kept the Santa Fe player on the substitute bench Lucas Alario (formerly Colón and River) and which gave entry to the Colombian Rafael Santos Borré (formerly River) for 20 minutes.

Giovanni Simeone He played the last six minutes in Napoli, after coming on as a substitute for Osimhen.

Both retaliation series will take place on Wednesday, March 15.