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Defending champions Real Madrid breezed to a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday evening. It was a raucous crowd full of Scousers, who boisterously chanted their usual pre-match rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” throughout the playing of the official Champions League anthem, which made for an interesting harmony before the match. Each side was missing a major goal-scoring threat in this match due to injury, as Liverpool was without Daniel Sturridge and Real was without Welshman Gareth Bale.
From the beginning of the match, Madrid was in control of the action, dominating possession and slicing through the Liverpool defense with incisive passing and movement. They finally broke through in the 23rd minute (yes it seemed like it “finally” occurred after only 23 minutes, such was the quality of the performance) following a sublime 1-2 passing sequence from World Cup star James Rodriguez to Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo took his final touch on a half-volley and placed the ball in the left corner of the net past helpless Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. It was Ronaldo’s 70th goal in the Champions League competition, leaving him just one shy of fellow Real Madrid man Raul’s all-time record.
The onslaught continued after the goal, as Karim Benzema scored the second goal in the 30th minute with a looping header following a cross from Toni Kroos that Mignolet could only watch go over his head and into the net. Benzema scored the third and final goal in the 41st minute following some sloppy defending from Liverpool during a set piece on a corner. Liverpool had several opportunities to clear the ball off the line, but failed to do so and with Mignolet out of position, Benzema slotted home to an open net. After 3 matches in Group B, Real Madrid sits atop the table with 9 points, while the other three clubs (Liverpool, Basel, and Ludogorets) all have 3 points. It will be a fight to the finish to see which club will emerge out of the group alongside Real.
For Real Madrid, who currently sits third in the La Liga Table, the dominant performance was exactly what it needed as it heads into Saturday’s Clásico against rival Barcelona. Despite its lineup of global superstars (the Galacticos), Madrid has not been dominant throughout this season. With Barcelona currently atop the table and Luis Suarez set to make his debut on Saturday, this match provided a much-needed boost in confidence for los Blancos.
For Liverpool, it was a bit of a reality check that demonstrates they are not quite ready to play with the big boys on European nights. The Reds were completely overmatched and, with the exception of Coutinho hitting the post near the end of the first half, they rarely troubled Real’s goal. Mario Balotelli failed to make a noticeable impact and it becomes clear with each match that the club has failed to adequately replace Suarez this season. Getting Sturridge back will certainly help, but it is difficult to imagine that, even as great as he is, he would have been able to make a noticeable difference in this match. At this point, Liverpool fans should be very concerned about whether they will be able to make it out of the group.
During the two days of Champions League matches this week, several of the clubs with big ambitions in this competition made statements about their intentions, which led to several lopsided scorelines. Bayern Munich (7-1), Chelsea (6-0) Atlético Madrid (5-0), and Borussia Dortmund (4-0) all won decisively and, with the exception of Chelsea, all these clubs were playing squads expected to challenge for a spot in the knockout round. We are now halfway through the group stage matches and now the return legs for each of the ties will begin on November 4th. In fact, Liverpool and Real Madrid will be playing each other again in Madrid that day, so Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has a few weeks to figure out what went wrong in this match.
Follow Mike Smith on Twitter @thefootiegent
