Real Madrid overpowers Liverpool

Real Madrid overpowered Liverpool 3-1 in the first leg of the sides’ Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday. Despite being without starting center-back pairing Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, Real Madrid looked a class above the reigning Premier League champion and took the lead through first-half goals from Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio. Mohamed Salah pulled one back for Liverpool, but with 25 minutes remaining, Madrid extended its lead with Vinicius grabbing his second of the night. It was the same scoreline as when the two sides met in the Champions League final in 2018, and this time Liverpool faces a tough challenge to overturn the two-goal deficit in the second leg at Anfield on April 14.

“If you want to go to the semifinals of the Champions League, you have to earn the right to do so,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told BT Sport. “We didn't do that tonight, especially in the first half ... we just didn't play good enough football tonight.” Despite coming into the game off the back of an impressive win over Arsenal in the Premier League at the weekend, Liverpool was second best from the outset. The experienced midfield of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro took control of the flow of the game, and it was an excellent through-ball from Kroos that enabled Real Madrid to open the scoring. Vinicius controlled the ball masterfully on his chest before firing past Alisson in the Liverpool goal.

Liverpool's evening went from bad to worse moments later as Trent Alexander-Arnold's misplaced header from another Kroos pass was pounced on by Asensio, who lifted the ball over Alisson before tapping home. The Reds looked better after the break and reduced the deficit six minutes into the second half as Salah profited from neat work by Georginio Wijnaldum and Diego Jota to finish past Thibaut Courtois. However, as Liverpool attempted to restore parity, sloppy passes and errant shots disrupted its flow and Real Madrid was able to extend its lead as Vinicius squeezed a first-time shot past Alisson following slick buildup play by Karim Benzema and Modric.