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Arne Slot said it was “special” to beat European champions Real Madrid as they have been “a pain in the ass” for Liverpool in the past.
In what was another memorable Champions League night at Anfield, Liverpool’s 2-0 victory means they now sit top of the new 36-team group stage with a perfect record of five games played and five victories, with Madrid’s Jude Bellingham admitting that they “were more than us”.
That was certainly the case, with Slot hinting at Liverpool’s desire for a modicum of revenge, having lost recent Champions League finals – in 2018 and 2022 – to Madrid.
“You know how special it is to play against a team that has won the Champions League so many times (15),” the Liverpool manager said. “They have also been a headache for Liverpool for many years. It’s a big week and it’s nice to see.
This also referred to the upcoming Premier League match on Sunday at home to champions Manchester City. If Liverpool win this match, they could open up a daunting 11-point gap at the top, although there are concerns over possible injuries to Ibrahima Konate and standout Conor Bradley.
Slot said he did not know the extent of the damage, adding: “I know where they hurt, but it’s hard to judge so closely after the game how bad or good it is, but it is coming We missed Trent (Alexander-Arnold), (Diogo) Jota, Alisson today, we missed Kostas (Tsimikas) I really hope both are available, but if not, someone else will have to. to intervene.
Liverpool came in with an impressive performance here with Slot, having taken over from Jurgen Klopp in the summer, admitting they were ahead of schedule. “If before the season I had counted the points for this point of the season, I would not have done as many as now,” he said.
“This team has always been there. The last two years may have been different but it was just a few adjustments, we’re only five games in, in a new format. We are happy with our situation but let’s not get carried away with a victory in the group stage. This club wants more.
Slot’s young family, who came from the Netherlands, witnessed the meeting. “They took a few days off to come here,” he said. “They will be there for Man City but it will not influence the game! Having family around is always a good thing, because you don’t have to be focused for 24 hours… 18 hours maybe!
“They were more willing than us”
Bellingham admitted that Madrid – who are languishing in 24th place, just above failing to qualify for the last-16 play-offs in the new format – deserved to lose.
“I think, to be honest, from the first minute they probably took control of the game,” the England midfielder said, adding: “I think they were more up for it than us, which was definitely disappointing to say, but it’s a bad result against probably the most successful team in Europe. It’s no shame to come here. We’re disappointed with our performance, but the important thing is that we are. We’re using it the right way now. We have three games left. the group and it’s important to win them all to give us the best possible chance in the ranking.
Much of Madrid’s criticism will focus on another poor performance from Kylian Mbappe who – like Mohamed Salah – failed to score a penalty. Under-pressure Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted Mbappe was struggling to find “confidence” following his big-money move from Paris St-Germain, but teammate Bellingham refused to blame him.
“He’s a wonderful player, but the pressure from his quality is enormous,” Bellingham said. “The penalty is not the reason we lost the match. As a collective we weren’t good enough that night, they played better than us and it’s as simple as that.
