How Arne Slot aced the biggest night of his career thanks to a ‘perfect’ performance from Liverpool’s rising star
Liverpool overcame their hoodoo against Real Madrid to beat the 15-time champions of Europe with a convincing win last night.
Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in the second half before Caoimhin Kelleher made a heroic save to deny Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot.
Substitute Cody Gakpo added a second as Anfield erupted to greet their heroes returning to the top of the Champions League ahead of their crucial meeting with Manchester City on Sunday.
Mail Sport’s LEWIS STEELE was there and discusses some of the key talking points…
The Lock prison
Carlo Ancelotti, welcome to Arne Slot’s prison. So goes the joke on social media: the Liverpool boss condemns fellow managers to his own ‘prison’, while one by one he picks off the cream of the crop in European coaching.
Xabi Alonso, Enzo Maresca, Erik ten Hag and Unai Emery have suffered defeats to Slot during his Anfield reign so far. But this was the biggest scalp of all.
Carlo Ancelotti became the latest manager to suffer defeat to Arne Slot and Liverpool this season
The Dutchman has led the Reds to 17 wins in his first 19 games as Liverpool boss since his arrival in the summer.
Liverpool achieved their first victory over Real Madrid in fifteen years in front of a raucous Anfield crowd on Wednesday evening
The seven-time European Cup winner Ancelotti was – if you also include his playing career – not only defeated but thoroughly outplayed by Slot’s men, who were better in all areas.
Some fans are never happy and one of this reporter’s
He was clearly not watching Manchester City on Tuesday evening when the Etihad club imploded after three substitutions. It’s easy for fans to grumble in retrospect, but with only a 2-0 draw against Real Madrid, nothing ever gets done.
However, this was a special evening for Slot. Not only on the field, but also in the stands as his family flew over from the Netherlands to watch the historic victory for their husband and father.
On paper, coaching Liverpool against Real Madrid was probably the biggest night of his career, especially considering the journey he has taken in a coaching career that started with the youth teams of NAC Breda.
But realistically, Sunday’s clash is bigger. If they beat Manchester City, Liverpool will move a whopping eleven points clear of the champions. That is nothing short of exceptional for what should have been a transitional season after Jurgen Klopp.
Will the next prisoner in Arne Slot’s prison be Pep Guardiola?
Liverpool welcomes Pep Guardiola and his oversized team to Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon
Don’t forget Fleetwood, Conor
Two years ago this week, Conor Bradley was playing at Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium for Bolton while on loan at the League One club.
Imagine telling him that two years later he would be playing for Liverpool against the great Real Madrid in a Champions League match.
There was some improvement for the Northern Irishman, but he is certainly not here to make up the numbers and was undoubtedly the man of the match here.
To say he bullied Kylian Mbappe would be a major understatement as Bradley put in a perfect defensive display to ensure the Frenchman could not influence the game in an attacking sense.
Looking forward, Bradley was exceptional and reminded Mail Sport of a piece we did on him last year when we spoke to his old youth coaches, one of whom said ‘he walks like a gazelle, he can pass like Steven Gerrard’.
It wasn’t quite Stevie G with his assist, but he chose the right option to beat Alexis Mac Allister’s for Liverpool’s opener. Perfect at the back, a handful at the other end – this was an imperious all-round performance from Bradley.
Also worth noting is the fact that Real Madrid are courting Trent Alexander-Arnold, the No. 1 right-back in these parts. If – and this is a big ‘if’, Liverpool fans – Alexander-Arnold goes to Spain, the guy playing his deputy isn’t bad at all.
Conor Bradley put in a stunning performance against the European champions in his first start in the Champions League
The 21-year-old played a huge role in Kylian Mbappe having a miserable evening at Anfield
What is with Mbappe?
First the problem was that Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior wanted to play in the same position. Now it is the case that the French Galactico cannot score wherever he starts.
With Vinicius out, the onus falls on Mbappe to take charge of Carlo Ancelotti’s team. But he is not doing great at the moment and is perhaps experiencing a crisis of confidence for the first time in his career.
What happened to the swagger, the positive arrogance and the style that made Mbappé look like he was the best player in the world in the making just a few years ago? And is Real Madrid worse with Mbappé?
It’s a question that will seem strange over time. But it is certainly a problem for Ancelotti, whose side trail Barcelona in La Liga and sit a staggering 24th in the revamped Champions League group stage.
When you consider that Real are – literally – football kings with fifteen European Cups, that is not good enough. And it would be no surprise if this was Ancelotti’s final season at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, with Xabi Alonso often touted as his potential successor.
About Mbappé, he said: ‘This has happened before with attackers in my career. As a striker you want to score and gain a little confidence.
“There is a medicine that is a difficult moment for him, I think Mbappe is a difficult moment. We have to support him and give him our love, he will be fine soon.”
Mbappe was a shadow of his former self against the Reds as his struggles since his move to Madrid continued
Carlo, Jude and Co have a love affair with Liverpool
If watching the match wasn’t enough to convince you of Liverpool’s talents, just read the words of manager Ancelotti, La Liga player of the season – last year at least – Jude Bellingham and former Champions League winner Rio Ferdinand.
‘I think it’s a fair result, to be completely honest. Liverpool deserved to win. They have a very good dynamic and are in great shape, they play with a high intensity,” said Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League five times. once as a boss and twice more as a player.
Bellingham added: “They were just more up for it than us, which is really disappointing to say. It’s a bad result against the best performing team in Europe. There’s no shame in coming here and losing, but we’re disappointed with the way we performed.”
And Ferdinand said: ‘They have thrown down the gauntlet to all the other teams in Europe. They seem to be the best team in Europe at the moment.
“They play as a team and look like the hungriest individuals. Not only are they getting results, they look starved. They look like they haven’t been fed for ages, Rottweilers run down past the hunting teams. They have the calm.”
Jude Bellingham admitted Liverpool were ‘just more into it’ than the defending champions
Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, who scored a memorable goal against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, was at Anfield on Wednesday evening
European kingship in the city
Bradley was the star of the show on the pitch, but a certain Gareth Bale was in town and must have struggled to play ten seconds without being mobbed for a selfie – even by Liverpool fans off the pitch.
So he must be forgiven for that bicycle kick in the 2018 Champions League final.
Looking friendly as ever, Bale strolled along the Anfield touchline ahead of his duties at TNT Sports and was mobbed by fans, media and even former players for photos. Who can really blame them?
No such pleasantries, however, from Bellingham, who stared straight ahead and made no eye contact with a group of about 25 Spanish reporters who tried to talk to him in the mixed zone after the match.
His little brother Jobe was present, but watched as Jude failed to take control of this match with very few notable moments.
Meanwhile, there was another familiar face in town. Alvaro Arbeloa, once a member of this parish, was at the AXA Training Center earlier today. The former Liverpool right-back now manages Real Madrid Under-19s, who defeated the Reds 1-0 in the UEFA Youth League in an enjoyable match.