Alexis Mac Allister broke the deadlock just 10 minutes into Wednesday’s second half by sweeping home after a neat one-two with Conor Bradley.
The visitors were awarded a penalty on the hour mark from Andy Robertson’s foul on Lucas Vazquez but Caoimhin Kelleher kept out Kylian Mbappe’s effort.
Mohamed Salah spurned a chance to double the Reds’ lead also from the spot after being fouled by Ferland Mendy by skewing his effort off the post.
But substitute Cody Gakpo helped set the hosts on their way to a comfortable victory when he headed home a deep right-sided cross from Robertson.
Arne Slot’s side continue to lead the Champions League table with a perfect return of 15 points from their opening five games in this season’s competition.
**Here were the key talking points from Anfield:**
Reds serve ice-cold revenge
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Andy Robertson insisted that Liverpool would not treat Real Madrid’s latest visit to Anfield as a revenge mission despite their shared recent history.
The left-back’s caution was understandable given that Mohamed Salah saw his own previous declaration on the matter fully returned to bite him in 2022.
But a first win over the reigning European champions was definitely one to savour for Arne Slot’s side as they continue to swat aside all before them.
Los Blancos’ early game plan amid a war of attrition saw them regularly draw cheap fouls and bookings from their hosts, much to the Anfield crowd’s ire.
When Ryan Gravenberch drew a caution for dissent, Curtis Jones offered his teammate a timely reminder of the need for a cool head in the heat of battle.
A recomposed Reds headed into the second half with a performance which validated their status as the best team in the Champions League and beyond.
Even when Salah missed his penalty kick, remarkably planting it against the outside of Thibaut Courtois’ righthand post, they still maintained total control.
Vengeance is often best served cold and Slot’s men delivered it frozen.
Galacticos outshone by Kop kids
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Had history panned out differently, Jude Bellingham would have been lining up for this contest wearing a Liverpool shirt rather than the white of Madrid.
The England international, however, maintained that the potential interest from Merseyside ‘probably wasn’t as close as a lot of the media made out’.
Perhaps it was for the best after Bellingham’s latest return to his homeland saw him decidedly second-best in a battle of the no.10s with Curtis Jones.
He wasn’t the only one struggling to keep pace with Anfield’s homegrown crop as Conor Bradley had the measure of Kylian Mbappe for the vast majority.
The Northern Ireland captain produced a lung-busting run from all of 40 yards to thwart Mbappe with a sliding interception that left supporters roaring.
An assist for the opener later, playing a neat one-two with Alexis Mac Allister, rounded off a display reminiscent of January’s show-stopper against Chelsea.
Caoimin Kelleher, similarly, continued to deliver with a sublime stop to deny Mbappe from the penalty spot with the game still finely poised on one goal.
The Galacticos simply could not keep pace with the kids from The Kop.
Can anyone topple Slot’s machine?
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This week was always set to be make-or-break for Liverpool.
Even before the domestic and European tables began to take shape, their head coach knew clashes with Madrid and Manchester City posed stern tests.
On paper, a double–header with two of the previously eminent forces in the continental game threatened to be a daunting prospect for Slot’s charges.
Yet the Dutchman may rest a little easier knowing that Carlo Ancelotti was incapable of landing a glove on Liverpool across Wednesday’s 95 minutes.
The onus now falls on City, themselves in no great shakes and on the back of an uncharacteristic six-game winless run, to do what the Spaniards could not.
Even at their lowest point and on a ground where victories often elude them, Pep Guardiola’s wounded animal are still capable of springing a surprise.
Toppling the well-oiled machine which Slot has assembled in just a few short months is a different matter entirely for the fallen Premier League holders.
Only time will tell how, or when, that happens but Liverpool have officially thrown down the gauntlet ahead of this weekend’s latest showdown.