Xabi Alonso, Head Coach of Real Madrid, reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid C.F. at Anfield on November 04, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)placeholder image
Xabi Alonso, Head Coach of Real Madrid, reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid C.F. at Anfield on November 04, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Liverpool earned a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield.
Xabi Alonso admitted that Real Madrid are returning to Spain with a ‘bitter taste’ in their mouth after being defeated by Liverpool.
The Reds delivered a deserved 1-0 victory over Los Blancos in the Champions League at Anfield. Arne Slot’s Premier League champions were thoroughly deserving of all three points against the current La Liga leaders.
Alexis Mac Allister netted the only goal of the game in the 61st minute when heading home Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick. But Liverpool’s triumph could well have been more emphatic only for the heroics of Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who made several excellent saves before he was finally beaten by Mac Allister.
Madrid dropped points in the league phase of the Champions League for the first time this season. It was also their second loss in all competitions this term as they sit five points clear at the top of the Spanish table.
Alonso reckons that Los Blancos were in the game but admitted they were blunted in the final third. But he rued how Real have away so many fouls in the second half, which allowed Liverpool to build momentum and suggested his side did not handle the pressure when the Anfield crowd got ‘up for it’.
What’s been said
Speaking at his post-match press conference, the Madrid boss - who was part of Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League-winning team - said: "It was a demanding game, really fast-paced. We competed well but we lacked a real threat. The first half was fairly evenly matched and the second was decided by small margins.
“We started giving away too many free-kicks and the odd corner. Courtois kept us in it there. The goal gave them the edge and then we struggled a bit after that. I can't ask for any more from my team. We tried our best. It's the opening phase of the Champions League, we'll have chance to recover those points and we have to think about what's coming up.
“We have to learn that when they put the pressure on, which can happen when the crowd get up for it, we have to avoid giving away corners and free-kicks. We needed to create more opportunities. It was an intense game. We gave away a little bit too much at the start of the second half, we gifted them too many chances. It was avoidable. We should have been higher up, and they have great free-kick takers and finishers. .They created a lot of chances because we gave away too many fouls.
“We leave with a bitter taste in our mouths with the defeat. We have to analyse it and start thinking about Rayo tomorrow.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to Anfield for the first time after his controversial Liverpool departure to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. The Reds academy product, who won eight major trophies with his boyhood club, was booed when brought off the bench in the second period. He was also jeered every time he touched the ball.
On the reception Alexander-Arnold received, Alonso said: “It was an intense game, typical of Anfield against two top sides. He tried to show his qualities, his threat down the right-hand side. He's a mature and very professional guy.”
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