Mac Allister sinks Real Madrid to ruin Alexander-Arnold’s return to Liverpool

Ultimately it was not about who was back at Anfield but what was back. The Liverpool of Arne Slot’s title‑winning debut season was the answer and, on their second successive November visit, Real Madrid did not have one of their own.

Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring last season in the 2-0 defeat of the Spanish giants – though giant would be a huge exaggeration of their latest display on Merseyside – and settled the reunion of the European heavyweights as Liverpool, all controlled aggression and clear‑eyed intent, ignited their Champions League campaign and potentially their entire season. Another clean sheet and set-piece goal heightened Slot’s satisfaction on a raucous, reaffirming night at Anfield.

Xabi Alonso’s team were a distant second, the stellar names of Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior confined to the margins throughout, and only Thibaut Courtois’s latest commanding display against Liverpool prevented a more emphatic victory. Alonso was booked on his return to Anfield. Trent Alexander-Arnold, his mural near Anfield vandalised earlier in the day, had his every touch booed after an 81st‑minute introduction.

A late passage of play encapsulated the enjoyment Liverpool took from the game. An aimless cross by Alexander-Arnold was shepherded out of play on the opposite side of the pitch by his successor as Liverpool right back, Conor Bradley. The outstanding Bradley bumped Vinícius up in the air and out of his way for good measure.

Fun was not the only feature to return at Anfield. Liverpool performed with an intensity, belief and organisation reminiscent of when they met Real 12 months ago. On that occasion Slot’s side carried with them the momentum from 13 wins in a 14-game unbeaten run. The circumstances were far removed here. This was a test of whether the win against Aston Villa on Saturday represented a fleeting recovery or one with substance. The signs were immediately encouraging for Slot and they would be sustained.

Real did not get out of their half for the first five minutes as Liverpool started on the front foot. Florian Wirtz was to the fore on his recall and created the first chance when dispossessing Dean Huijsen near the corner flag. Mac Allister side-footed over, to his obvious disgust, but the tone for a thoroughly committed performance had been set.

Bradley also laid an early marker in his personal battle with Vinícius. The Northern Ireland international again thrived against the illustrious names from Madrid. Last season he ignited the Anfield crowd with a thunderous challenge on Mbappé. Now he engaged in a running feud with Vinícius that drove the Brazilian to distraction at times. The Real forward was booked for hauling down Bradley as he surged into the visitors’ half and later performed a pathetic dive inside the Liverpool area when accidentally, and lightly, touched in the face by the full‑back.

“One Conor Bradley” reverberated around the stadium although, of course, for more reason than the young defender’s finest display of the season. Alexander-Arnold’s first appearance at Anfield since his acrimonious summer departure added another intriguing subplot. The boos were mild when he appeared for the warm-up but cranked up in volume and venom when he entered the contest.

For almost an hour it seemed that Liverpool’s ghost from the 2022 Champions League final, Courtois, would haunt them again. Wirtz seized on a careless touch by Huijsen to break free and squared perfectly for Dominik Szoboszlai as he arrived unmarked in the area. The midfielder connected cleanly but Courtois spread himself superbly to save at point-blank range.

Liverpool’s disbelief turned to disgust when Szoboszlai next took aim at the Real goal. The Hungarian’s drive struck Aurélien Tchouaméni on the hand as he dived in to block. The referee, Istvan Kovacs, awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area but the France international was clearly inside when making contact with the ball. A spot-kick appeared imminent when Kovacs was sent to the pitch‑side monitor but he rejected the penalty claim and overturned the free-kick. Tchouaméni’s arms were in a natural position, apparently. Anfield reacted with understandable fury.

The controversy emboldened Slot’s side more than the Spanish league leaders. Giorgi Mamardashvili saved from Bellingham and Arda Guler in quick succession but Courtois remained the busier keeper by far. Szoboszlai was denied twice by Real’s No 1 before the break, Mac Allister too, and Courtois’s one-man stand continued after the restart. Virgil van Dijk could only laugh when his close-range header from a Wirtz corner was tipped over. Courtois repeated the trick when the resulting corner from Szoboszlai was headed goalwards by Hugo Ekitiké.

Courtois’s resistance was finally broken after Bellingham picked up a booking for fouling Ryan Gravenberch on the right. Conceding cheap free‑kicks was Real’s biggest failing on the night, according to Alonso. Szoboszlai swept over a powerful set‑piece – Alexander‑Arnold might have taken it had he stayed – and the improving Mac Allister bulleted a header through the goalkeeper’s guard. VAR intervened again to check a potential offside against the goalscorer. Anfield would not be enraged this time.