UEFA Champions League

Real Madrid surges in second half to beat Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield

Updated Feb. 21, 2023 6:57 p.m. ET

One of the most hotly anticipated games of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League knockout stage more than lived up to the hype.

In a thrilling rematch of last year's final, hosts Liverpool took an early 2-0 against Real Madrid Tuesday in the first leg of the two European heavyweights' round of 16 clash before giving up five consecutive goals to the 14-time winners and losing 5-2.

Real's second-half surge all but ends the Reds ambitions of returning to the finale for the fourth time since 2018; Jürgen Klopp's side must now win by at least three goals in the Spanish capital in the decisive second leg March 15 just to erase the aggregate deficit and force extra time. But that's a story for another day.

Here are three quick thoughts on Tuesday's heart-pounding match.

What an amazing game

Liverpool fans sure won't think so. But for neutrals, Tuesday's high profile contest on Merseyside had everything. All-world players on both sides. An off-the-meter atmosphere at Anfield. A breakneck pace by both teams almost from start to finish and, of course, the seven goals.

Reds striker Darwin Núñez set the tone for what would follow with a beautiful, improvised finish just four minutes in:

The rest weren't all as pretty. Mo Salah doubled Liverpool's advantage on a horrendous blunder by Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois. After Vini Jr. pulled one back against the run of play for Real Madrid, Reds backstop Alisson Becker made perhaps an even more spectacular error, blasting his clearance off Vini's ankle and into his own net to pull the visitors even.

The equalizer came about 10 minutes before halftime, but it was all Real after the break. An unmarked Éder Militão made it 3-2 less than two minutes following the restart, and Karim Benzema completed the rout with a second-half brace.

It was a shocking end to what had started as one of Liverpool's best performances of the year. And while the lopsided final score line took some of the sting out of what had been a pulsating affair over the last 10 minutes, it was still a tremendously entertaining match for everyone except the home supporters.

Alisson's error cost Liverpool dearly

It's probably unfair to pick on the Brazilian for gifting Vini Jr. the all-important leveler, especially when Courtois' gaffe was almost as egregious. Still, the fact is that Liverpool was by far the better team to that point.

Salah should've made it 2-0 even before he pounced on the Belgian's giveaway and stabbed it home. With the crowd behind them, Klopp's lot bossed the first half. When Real did manage to get out on the break, Becker and Liverpool defenders Joe Gomez, Andrew Robertson and Virgil van Dijk were mostly there to snuff out the danger.

Meantime, Núñez and Salah were giving Real's back line fits on the other end of the field. With the score 2-1, the hosts seemed more likely to score a third than concede.

Vini Jr.'s second changed all of that, and it showed. As good as they were for the first half hour, Liverpool looked like a different team over the final 45 minutes. They were dreadful in their own end — allowing Militão a free header deep inside the box was borderline criminal — and could conjure next to nothing going forward.

This was not a case of Courtois stopping everything and stealing a result, as he did last May in Paris, or the final score not reflecting what actually happened. Liverpool blew this one, pure and simple. And it means that barring a miracle, their dreams of winning a seventh European title this spring are over.

Real's Champions League magic continues

As poor as Liverpool were for the last half of this match, Carlo Ancelotti's side deserves plenty of credit. Despite being overrun early, they never hung their heads. Not after Courtois's freebee. Not when defender David Alaba had to be subbed out because of injury after just 27 minutes.

There's a mystique when it comes to Real Madrid in this competition, a "never say die" attitude, a confidence that seems to come with wearing the famous white shirt. How else to explain the club's mastery in European play? Real's 14 titles are double the number the next most successful club, Italy's AC Milan, has won.

As it was in last year's final, and in their last-gasp comeback win over mighty Manchester City in the semis that got them there, that magic was there for all to see once again Tuesday. This was yet another statement game for Real in this competition. The message? Look out.

It's still February. There's still a long way to go between now and a 15th continental crown for Los Blancos, to be sure. At the same time, after Tuesday's win, only a fool would bet against Ancelotti's team ending up with the silverware this year, too.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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