Just four minutes into proceedings, Darwin Nunez applied an audacious flick to Mohamed Salah’s ball to sensationally open the scoring as Liverpool got off to the perfect start.
After a dominant opening that was reminiscent of seasons gone by for the Reds, Thibaut Courtois then gave Salah an absolute gift with a poor touch, and the Egyptian gratefully accepted it to draw level with Didier Drogba as the highest-scoring African in UCL history.
In contrast to his goalkeeper, Vinicius Junior replicated his quality shown in last season’s final to reduce Los Blancos’ deficit with a stunning strike that curled into the bottom corner.
The Brazilian was gifted his second, as Alisson’s attempted pass bounced off his compatriot and into the net in a match that was switching between the sublime and calamitous.
Vinicius almost cut Liverpool open again with a ball to Rodrygo, although Andrew Robertson made an outstanding intervention to keep the score level going into the break.
However, it took just two second-half minutes for Los Blancos to be headed in front when Eder Militao was found in space by Luka Modric’s pinpoint free-kick delivery, leaving a stunned Anfield the quietest it had been all evening.
Having been the man to clumsily concede that free-kick, Joe Gomez then deflected Karim Benzema’s effort past Alisson a mere eight minutes later to completely flip the tie.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were at their imperious best now.
Vinicius was released by Modric after he bypassed Liverpool’s midfield with ease, and he slipped through Benzema who showed incredible composure for his second of the night whilst also becoming the first-ever Real Madrid player to score in six competitions during a single season.
With Los Blancos taking control, Liverpool were unable to create any notable late opportunities as Jürgen Klopp’s side suffered just their second loss in 24 home matches across all competitions. Meanwhile, Real Madrid have won their last five contests, scoring 20 goals in that time, and take a commanding lead back to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium after a scintillating night at Anfield.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
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