Key events
90 min +4: Konate sashays out of defence like prime Beckenbauer. Salah tries to release Chiesa down the middle but Courtois clears. Alexander-Arnold crosses from the right, but there’s nobody in the centre. Plenty of ironic cheering.
90 min +3: Vinícius Júnior dribbles down the left touchline … but once again Bradley is positioned well, and the Real man takes the ball out of play for a throw. Anfield celebrate that like a goal.
90 min +2: … nothing comes. It’s worked left to right, where Mbappe dribbles out for a goal kick.
90 min +1: Kerkez is up and about again, shaking loose his sore leg but fine to continue. There will be five additional minutes, and the first sees Bradley yet again refuse to give way to Vinícius Júnior down the left. But it’s at the expense of a corner, from which …
90 min: Brahim Diaz comes on for Valverde.
89 min: Tchouaméni catches Kerkez slightly late. There didn’t seem any intent … and the referee had turned his back on the play, so there’s no free kick … but the newly arrived substitute felt that, so on comes the trainer.
88 min: Liverpool make another two changes, sending on Chiesa and Kerkez in place of Wirtz and Robertson.
87 min: Salah jinks in from the right. His low cross is swept goalwards from six yards by Gakpo … but straight at Courtois, who parries. The ball breaks to Salah, who is about to shoot when Militao arrives from nowhere to block. How on earth did Real survive there? By sheer determination. What last-ditch defence! Liverpool must be thoroughly sick of the outrageous Courtois.
85 min: Salah cuts in from the right, getting the better of Carreras as he enters the box. He’s lightly brushed, but opts to stay on his feet. Real swarm him and there’s no chance of a shot, the ball eventually squirting through to Courtois.
83 min: Rodrygo dribbles hard down the inside-right channel and nearly bursts clear into the box. But a pincer movement launched by Van Dijk and Robertson does for him. Goal kick.
82 min: He couldn’t, could he? Well, now he’s got the opportunity. Panto pelters on his first touch.
81 min: Rodrygo wins a corner down the left. Real waste it. At which point you’d expect cheering, but oh no. Because Guler makes way for Alexander-Arnold. The needle shears off the fully patented Alexander-Arnold Opprobrium-o-meter™ again. Boooooo! Eleven out of ten!
80 min: Wirtz shovels a pass down the inside right channel, hoping to release Jones into the box. Jones lets Salah have it instead, as the latter is definitely not offside. Probably a wise decision, as Jones had gone a bit early, but it doesn’t do the attack any good, and Salah dribbles into trouble.
79 min: Liverpool make a double change. Jones and Gakpo come on for Mac Allister and Ekitike.
77 min: Real are beginning to dominate possession. But they’re going nowhere, and eventually Robertson snaffles possession, before nearly releasing Salah down the middle. Carreras reads the danger, coming across to blooter clear.
75 min: Vinícius Júnior again down the left. He cuts infield and tees up Mbappe, who shoots. Gravenberch blocks. But Real come again, and Mbappe has another go from distance. This time he meets a cross dropping in from the left, sidefooting across Mamardashvili and inches wide of the top-right corner. Not sure Mamardashvili was getting to that, had it been on target.
73 min: Guler spins elegantly into space down the middle before rolling wide left to Vinícius Júnior, who crosses into a crowded mixer. Robertson deals with the situation, as Mbappe lurks. Better from Real, though their bar in this second half has been low. So far. There’s still time, and Anfield knows it.
71 min: Trent is out with some other subs, warming up. It could soon be that time.
69 min: The first change of the evening is by Real, as Camavinga makes way for Rodrygo, a little midfield control sacrificed to bolster the attack.
68 min: Bradley has the opportunity to release Salah down the right, but shanks the long pass into the stand. Real were a bit light at the back there.
67 min: Real push up on Liverpool, but Salah juggles his way past Huijsen and Carreras on the right flank to move the play back up the pitch. Salah’s been quiet this evening, but he’s not stopped working, and the crowd enjoyed that.
65 min: Wirtz is fine to continue, though he felt that, and is rubbing his jawline.
64 min: Wirtz goes down in the centre circle, having come off worse in a tangle with Mbappe. An elbow on the ear. There didn’t seem to be any intent there, a complete accident as Mbappe turned his man and made off with the ball. But the physio is required.
63 min: Yep, the goal stands! Anfield erupts. Liverpool have been good value for their goal.
62 min: … but VAR is going to have a check. Was Mac Allister offside? It looks like Bellingham was playing him on, but let’s see.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid (Mac Allister 61)
Liverpool get it right this time! Szoboszlai whips the free kick in from the right. A proper whip, too. Mac Allister meets it, six yards out, and simply can’t miss with his header, which flashes past Courtois. Through his hands, maybe, but the keeper had no chance with that, such was the velocity of the header.
60 min: Gravenberch picks up the pace down the inside-right channel, and this time it’s Bellingham who comes through the back of his opponent to go into the book. Yet another free kick for Liverpool coming up, just outside the Real box.
59 min: Carreras dribbles past Bradley and Gravenberch down the left, then rolls a teasing ball through the six-yard box. Guler doesn’t anticipate. Had he been on his toes, Liverpool could have been in some bother there.
57 min: Van Dijk hands off Mbappe in the centre circle, and is lucky not to go into the book. “That was a high quality first half, but it’s easy to see that the game could be improved by a plethora of long throws and set pieces that take between three to five minutes to set up.” Declan O’Brien there, as arch as they come.
55 min: Szoboszlai wafts an uncharacteristically weak free kick to the far stick, where Wirtz is unable to win a header against Éder Militão. Real clear.
54 min: The pace drops a little. Liverpool probe patiently. Real get a bit irritated, and Tchouaméni steps across Szoboszlai as the Liverpool midfielder advances down the right. Another free kick in a promising position for the hosts.
52 min: Szoboszlai aims for the top left but it’s too close to Courtois, who punches clear with ease. Real attempt to counter, and Mac Allister is booked for a cynical yank of Mbappe’s shoulder.
51 min: Gravenberch is clumsily skittled by Bellingham, 30 yards out, just to the left of centre. Free kick. Szoboszlai is lining it up.
50 min: Bradley, from an awkward position near his own corner flag, dribbles past Vinícius Júnior. Knowing his opponent is on a booking and can’t risk a challenge from behind, Bradley makes it all theh way to the halfway line. His escape from trouble earns some warm applause.
48 min: Szoboszlai swings the corner in from the right. Ekitike heads towards the top right. Courtois tips over again! The third corner of the sequence is headed harmlessly wide left by Ekitike. This Liverpool v Courtois business is getting old. I hope Jurgen Klopp isn’t watching this, he’ll be getting PTSD-infused flashbacks.
47 min: Salah jinks in from the right and floats a cross intended for Bradley at the far stick. A Real eyebrow takes the ball out for a corner. Wirtz whistles it in from the left. Szoboszlai flicks on to Van Dijk, whose point-blank header, on target, is tipped over the bar by Courtois. It’s that man again!
Real get the second half started. No changes, and not so much rain. “A point I didn’t see made by anyone was the ball went out for a corner’,” notes Barry from London (presumably not that one). “If it wasn’t handball, why didn’t Liverpool still have a corner?”
Half-time entertainment. I can’t in all good conscience publish a post containing both the name “Kovacs” and the phrase “comedy gold” without turning attention to Ernie, one of the true greats. Check the opening monologue, delivered on live television without breaking sweat while someone flings machetes at his head.
Half-time postbag. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … if the modern handball rule comes down to refs deciding what is and is not a ‘natural position’, then the rule is broken” – Ted Graves
“He’s listed as being Romanian; but I suspect there’s some Manc blood in the Kovacs family. He’s already tackled Mac Allister and then overturned a nailed-on penalty. Comedy gold tonight at Anfield!” – Justin Kavanagh
“Re my earlier email (45 min). Actually, it should’ve been – it’s not handball so it’s not a penalty so go back to the free kick. But the offence was in the area so VAR has to intervene. But it’s not handball so go back to the free kick. Basically, the referee should be infinitely spinning like a black hole in front of the monitor” – Dan Christmas
“Why don’t we just get rid of the handball rule altogether for a laugh, see how it goes?” – Simon McMahon
HALF TIME: Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid
Liverpool go off to cheers, the referee to boos. Opprobrium-o-meter™ off the scale!
45 min +2: Huijsen flies in hard on Ekitike. Too hard, and a tad late as well. Into the book he goes. From the resulting free kick, Liverpool advance on the Real box, and Mac Allister joins Szoboszlai in having a drive towards the bottom left parried well by Courtois.
45 min +1: The first of two additional minutes flies by. “My younger son switched youth football clubs over the summer, at around the same time Trent Alexander-Arnold moved to Real Madrid,” begins Peter Oh. “My kid’s favored jersey numbers were already taken, so he picked 66 in honor of TAA. Imagine our surprise when we learned that Trent changed to 12 at his new club. ¿En serio? Anyway, the least that Xabi Alonso (thanks for the number 14 memories!) could do to put things right is to introduce Trent in the 66th minute.”
45 min: Bellingham sashays his way into the Liverpool box, making it to the left-hand corner of the six-yard area. He tries to force the ball home at the near post, but Mamardashvili stands strong to block. As close as Real have come. “If VAR can’t intervene in the awarding of free kicks, then if the referee decides it’s not a penalty because it wasn’t handball he can’t overturn his decision to give a free kick?” wonders Dan Christmas. “What I’m saying is, the current laws of football are bananuts.”
43 min: Szoboszlai is in the mood to shoot on sight tonight. He takes another pot from the right-hand edge of the D. A powerful riser that requires Courtois to parry with a strong hand. The rebound doesn’t sit up for Salah, though his presence is enough to win a corner … but nothing comes of the set piece.
42 min: There’s an edge to this now, and Bellingham slip-slides through the back of Wirtz. Both teams giving it absolutely everything.
40 min: Vinícius Júnior tries to bust his way past Bradley on the outside, but slips. As he falls, he’s grazed in the face by one of Bradley’s fingers. He points to his mouth. He wants a spot kick. Another referee, another day, maybe. It would have been terribly soft, but you’ve seen them given. “Living the shots of Trent,” begins Kev McCready. “The vibe of teenager banned off his X-Box. What us Scousers would call a ‘cob on’ or a ‘titty lip’.”
39 min: Robertson gifts possession to Guler, who dribbles into the Liverpool box from the right. Robertson makes up for his mistake by stealing the ball back, though he had to time his challenge to perfection. He wasn’t far off clipping Guler for a penalty there. Had the referee pointed to the spot, after what’s just happened up the other end, all bets would have been off.
37 min: From the right-hand edge of the D, Szoboszlai attempts to thread a low shot into the bottom-left corner. Easy for Courtois.
36 min: The Liverpool fans are beyond furious. A sense of injustice burns. The Liverpool players meanwhile put it all behind them and keep pressing Real back.
34 min: On Amazon Prime, former referee Mark Clattenberg disagrees with the referee’s decision. So does Alan Shearer. Both contend Tchouaméni’s arm was in an unnatural position. But it’s referee István Kovács’s decision which counts.
33 min: … it’s not a penalty! And that’s because the referee overturns his decision of handball! Tchouaméni’s hand judged to be in a natural position. Not even a free kick for Liverpool. That’s absurd.
32 min: The referee is called over to the monitor. Another long look, and …
31 min: VAR are taking a long look at this. Tchouaméni’s arm was clearly in the box, as was most of his body. Surely this will be given as a penalty.
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