Carlo Ancelotti and Jude Bellingham both waxed lyrical over Liverpool after Real Madrid could not cope with Arne Slot’s men in a 2-0 Champions League loss at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
Slot’s side delivered an commanding performance against the Champions League holders to make it five wins from five games in Europe this season, as goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo earned the home side all three points in a game where Kylian Mbappe and Mo Salah both missed penalties.
And, speaking straight after the match, Ancelotti had nothing but praise for Liverpool, telling Movistar: “We competed well until the penalty, but then we dropped a bit in level, we could have made more of the counter-attacks.
“I liked the team, we competed well against the most difficult rival in Europe and they deserved to win.”
In his post-match press conference, Ancelotti added: “I think to be totally honest with you it’s a fair result, Liverpool deserved to win.
” They have a real good dynamic at the moment, they’re in great form, they’re really switched on, connected and playing with a high intensity.
“We did okay in the first half, we held them, we set up quite well, defended well as a unit, we tried to create our own opportunities as well.
“In transitions we were okay but then we lost the ball, we made the wrong decisions when we were going forward in the final ball as well.”
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Bellingham impressed with Europe’s elite Liverpool
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham described Liverpool as ‘the best-performing team in Europe’ after Madrid’s loss on Merseyside.
“I think to be fair from the first minute they just took control, we never maximised the spells we had in possession,” Bellingham told TNT Sports.
“We tried to force the counter too many times, turned the ball over so much that they just kept control. I just think they were more up for it than us, which is really disappointing to say.
“It’s probably a bad result against the best-performing team in Europe so it’s no disgrace to come here and lose, but we are disappointed in how we performed.
“We need to use it in the right way, we’ve got three games left and it’s important we win those.”
Take a bow, Alexis Mac Allister! 👏
Anfield erupts with noise as Liverpool take the lead 🔊
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 27, 2024
BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton, meanwhile, believes that Liverpool have the upper hand over both Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League title race at the moment due to one determining factor – having watched them see off Real Madrid.
He said: “What Liverpool have that Man City and Arsenal don’t is a greater strength in depth in their squad.
“You look at the goalkeeping position, Caoimhin Kelleher has always been outstanding, he’s got a brilliant temperament.
“In many respects it was not a great surprise to see him save a penalty. Kylian Mbappe is normally lethal but had his boots on the wrong feet tonight.
“You look at the right back position, Conor Bradley looked to have done his hamstring tonight but they have Trent Alexander-Arnold to come back in for Man City at the weekend.”
Latest Liverpool news: Massive Van Dijk update / twist in Salah saga
Virgil van Dijk will sign a contract extension with Liverpool, a report has claimed, after the Dutchman’s agent telegraphed an agreement between the player and club.
Like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, Van Dijk is in the final year of his contract. All three Reds superstars would be free to forge a pre-contract agreement with overseas sides come January 1 if new deals aren’t ironed out.
But according to a fresh update from Anfield Watch, Van Dijk will be the first of the trio to extend his stay by signing an extension.
Meanwhile, the agents for Mo Salah have ‘offered the player to Real Madrid’ and have been ‘presented with an opportunity to sign him’ per strong reports in Spain, while a leading pundit has questioned Liverpool over the Egyptian’s contract saga.
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