Heavy hand of history ensures Liverpool and Madrid deliver classic once again 

WORLD-CLASS: Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring the team's first goal. Pic: Michael Regan/Getty Images

WHEN THESE two giants of European football were drawn together back in November, we thought we might be in for a good game, but we were wrong - this was an exceptional match for all sorts of reasons.

It will go down in history for many reasons, not least as Liverpool's heaviest home defeat in European football. Other records were broken, including Mo Salah overtaking Steven Gerrard as Liverpool's top scorer in European football.

But what most of us will remember was how a combination of superb attacking play, appalling defensive mistakes and a midfield masterclass by the little maestro Luka Modric that led to an extraordinary turnaround.

From being two goals ahead inside 15 minutes, Liverpool capitulated to allow Real Madrid to score five times and surely seal their passage into the quarter-finals.

Yes, there will be a second-leg in Madrid next month, but it would take the mother of all turnarounds to keep the Reds in a competition they have won six times.

Madrid, of course, have won 14, their two most recent victories coming against Liverpool, which added spice to this tie.

Few games exist in isolation, played without context, and this is one fixture in which the heavy hand of history hangs over it like no other.

Liverpool versus Real Madrid has always been a glamorous tie, conjuring memories of two of Europe's greatest sides going toe-to-toe at the highest level, from the European Cup final of 1981, which Alan Kennedy decided in Liverpool's favour, to the more recent meetings including two finals in three years, both won by the Spanish giants.

But there is a real edge to it too, brought about by bad blood at those finals. In 2018, Sergio Ramos was the pantomime villain for cynically fouling Salah out of the game, and last May it was UEFA who did most to enrage Liverpool fans. 

European football's governing body responded inadequately when it became clear that a combination of chaotic ticketing arrangements and heavy-handed policing in Paris was threatening a repeat of the horrors of Hillsborough.

The independent report published last week laid the blame primarily at UEFA's door, and Liverpool supporters made their feelings clear before kick-off on Tuesday night, loudly jeering the Champions League anthem and unfurling a banner that bore the words: “UEFA LIARS”.

So it was a fevered atmosphere at Anfield from the start, once there had been an immaculately observed minute's silence for former Real Madrid star and honorary president Amancio Amaro, whose death was announced earlier in the day.

When the whistle blew, Liverpool were clearly up for it and looked determined to blow Real Madrid away.

Darwin Nunez gave them the perfect start with a goal as audacious as it was clinical, showing immense confidence to clip Salah's cross past Thibaut Courtois with the back of his heel. It illustrated the level of confidence this competition imbues in the Uruguayan, who scored freely in it for Benfica before arriving at Anfield.

While that goal was brilliant, the second was comical as Courtois, man of the match in last May's final, made a real mess of a back pass and allowed Salah to poke the ball past him. Two-nil up, Jurgen Klopp may have dared to dream of a job well done, at the very least being able to go to Madrid in a good position.

But the Reds have been more fragile this season than in recent years, and the way they capitulated was partly self-inflicted, and partly down to the brilliance of Madrid.

The latter was shown by Vinicius Junior with his first goal, a superb shot into the far corner of Alisson's goal. The Brazilian keeper then gifted his compatriot an equaliser with a howler of Courtois-sized proportions, passing what should have been a straightforward clearance into the legs of Vinicius Junior. The ball bounced and bobble agonisingly as it made its way inevitably into the net.

Even at 2-2, there was hope that Liverpool could get back on track and give themselves something to take into the second leg. 

But Carlo Ancelotti, so inscrutable on the sidelines, clearly roused his side at half-time and they blew Liverpool away with another three goals in the space of 20 minutes. 

Modric was at the centre of it all, the 37-year-old playing with the energy of a man half his age but the ability and experience of a player who has been at the very top of world football for a decade. 

His deadly free-kick shortly after half-time gave Eder Militao a free header, with Liverpool's defenders left standing like statues. He was still buzzing around the pitch, controlling midfield in his inimitable way, when Karim Benzema scored the fourth with a rebound off the hapless Joe Gomez. 

And it was Modric's ball-winning ability in the centre-circle that set Madrid away for their final coup de grace, Benzema finishing again after taking the ball around Allison and shooting past three Reds defenders, who were variously flailing on the goal-line. That last goal pretty much told the story of the game – Modric majestic, Benzema clinical and Liverpool in disarray.

It was breathless stuff, and we have another leg to come. But only an extreme optimist would give Liverpool a chance of repeating their famous comeback win over Barcelona in 2019.