BarcelonaThe king of Europe plays with fire. Real Madrid suffered another defeat in the new Champions League and has remained at the bottom of the classification, right on the edge between the teams that would be eliminated and those that should make a play-off. With the absence of Vinícius, who will miss the next three or four weeks, Carlo Ancelotti’s team were defeated by a flying Liverpool, both in the Premier League and in the Champions League. Mbappé, the big star who left Paris to try to win the Champions League with Madrid, missed a penalty that could have changed things in the second half. The French forward has not yet succeeded.
Ancelotti opted for Luka Modric to start in an attempt to control the game, but it didn’t work out. With the losses he had in defence, Fede Valverde returned to play as a winger and the young Asencio as a centre-back. Both suffered against a Liverpool side that had the better chances in the first half. It would not be until after the break that the Argentinian MacAllister, a real tight end, would score the first goal for the team coached by the Dutchman Arne Slot. A Robertson penalty on Lucas Vázquez would have allowed Mbappé to equalise, but Kelleher saved the penalty. The Egyptian Salah would miss another penalty, in this case kicking it onto the post, but Gakpo, coming off a corner kick, would take it upon himself to do justice to a much superior Liverpool. This is the third defeat in five games for Ancelotti’s men, who visit Atalanta in their next game. Liverpool leads the classification of a tournament where Madrid occupies 24th position. If they lose in Bergamo next day, they could be one step away from being eliminated already in the first round. He should win the last two games, at home against Red Bull Salzburg and away to Brest.
The whites, who do not stop seeing how injured players fall, lost Camavinga at Anfield, who left the field of play at the start of the second half. The European champion seems more lost than ever in a new Champions League full of surprises.
