Mac Allister’s header sinks Los Blancos at Merseyside

Liverpool handed Real Madrid their first defeat in the UEFA Champions League as the Reds won 1-0 in Tuesday night’s clash at Anfield.

Arne Slot made only one change to the starting XI that beat Aston Villa at the weekend, with Florian Wirtz replacing Cody Gakpo.

The host bossed possession early on as Bradley advanced down the middle, finding Ekitike, who flicked it on for Wirtz, but the German could not connect with the pass.

Minutes later, Wirtz dispossessed Dean Huijsen, cutting back for Dominik Szoboszlai, who found Mac Allister, but his first-time shot was blasted off target.

At the other end, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham combined well, which resulted in a sharp counterattack, but Kylian Mbappe skied his effort.

At the half-hour mark, Wirtz latched onto a loose ball and fed the ball to an unmarked Szoboszlai, but Thibaut Courtois narrowed the angle and produced a world-class save with his leg.

Minutes later, the host appealed for a penalty after Szoboszlai’s effort was blocked by the arm of Aurelien Tchouameni inside the box, but the VAR intervened, and the referee decided there wasn’t a handball after initially awarding Liverpool a free kick.

Courtois produced a double save on Szoboszlai’s efforts to keep the visitors in the game.

Giorgi Mamardashvili too was tested at the other end, saving Bellingham’s effort with his leg from close range.

The last chance of the first half came from Mac Allister’s shot, but the big Belgian goalkeeper parried it away as it ended goalless into the break.

Courtois continued from where he stopped after the break as he denied both Captain Virgil van Dijk’s and Ekitike’s headers from a corner kick.

Bellingham was penalised for an infringement on Gravenberch as Szoboszlai delivered a well-placed cross from the set-piece for Mac Allister to nod home, giving the hosts the well-deserved lead in the 61st minute.

Mbappe almost drew Los Blancos level after Vinicius’ cutback pass found him, but his sidefooted strike went just wide.

Gakpo could have sealed the victory for the Reds late on, but Courtois was called into action again to palm away the Dutchman’s effort, and Salah’s rebound was blocked by Eder Militao.

The Reds are now level on points with Real Madrid, making it nine points from four games in the league phase. They travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City on Sunday in their next Premier League match.