Real Rally Back To Thrash Liverpool At Anfield
22 February, 2023
Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid
Defending champions Real Madrid rallied from behind to thrash Liverpool 5-2 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp named unchanged starting line-up from the win over Newcastle United over the weekend, with Darwin Nunez overcoming his injury to retain his spot.
The visitors, meanwhile, were boosted by the return of Karim Benzema who replaced Dani Ceballos, while Dani Carvajal relaced Nacho.
The Reds got off to the perfect start when Mohamed Salah's fine pass found Nunez, who opened the scoring with a cheeky flick after just four minutes.
Los Blancos goalkeeper Thibaut Court was the hero in the final last year between the two sides, but he gifted Liverpool a second goal on 14 minutes when he mis-controlled back pass, which allowed Salah to fire home. Madrid were not to be outdone yet as Vinicius Junior pulled one back in the 22nd minute with a superb individual effort that left Alisson Becker with no chance.
The visitors got back on level terms ten minutes before the break when Vinicius charged down a clearance from Alisson which sailed into the back of the net.
The second half continued in similar vain to the first, as Madrid completed the turnaround when un-marked Eder Militao nodded home Luka Modric's free-kick.
Los Blancos then went two goals ahead ten minutes later when Benzema combined Rodrygo before seeing his effort deflect off Joe Gomez and sail past a helpless Alisson.
It wasn't too long before Madrid had their fifth goal, as the visitors broke quickly with Vinicius playing in Benzema, who rounded the on-rushing Alisson before firing into the top corner.
Klopp threw on James Milner and Joel Matip for the final 20 minutes to help stop the onslaught, although they were unable to reduce the deficit at the other end.
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Napoli
Napoli edged closer to a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals after defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 at Deutche Bank Park.
The Serie A outfit recalled Piotr Zielinski and Hirving Lozano after the weekend's win over Sassuolo, while the home side opted for Aurelio Buta at right back.
The two sides were meeting for the first time since 1995, with the German side having won their two previous encounters against the Italians.
The Italians looked lively in the first half and should have gone ahead after being awarded a penalty on 36 minutes for Buta's foul, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw his spot-kick saved by Kelvin Trapp.
Napoli did get the opening goal five minutes before the break, as Lozano broke free down the flank before picking out Victor Osimhen for the close range finish.
Frankfurt's hopes of getting back into the back of the game suffered a blow on 58 minutes when star forward Randal Kolo Muani was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge.
The Serie A outfit doubled their lead seven minutes later as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo popped up in the box to turn home Kvaratskhelia's classy flick.
Frankfurt did show a bit of fight in the latter stages of the second half but failed to register any serious attempts at goal and will trail by two goals heading into the second leg in Naples.
Source: www.snl24.com
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