Real Madrid suffered just their second defeat this season on Tuesday evening, falling 1–0 to Liverpool after a poor 90 minutes at Anfield.
The Spanish giants came into the clash as one of only five perfect teams in the Champions League, but they faced their biggest test in the defending English champions, a test that Real Madrid ultimately failed.
Arne Slot’s men, who had kept just one clean sheet in their last 11 matches, held Los Blancos scoreless. Alexis Mac Allister’s header in the 61st minute was enough to secure all three points for Liverpool, snapping Real Madrid’s six-game winning streak.
Trent Alexander-Arnold could only look on for most of the night from the bench as he saw what was slated to be a euphoric return to Anfield turn sour.
Real Madrid Player Ratings vs. Liverpool (4-1-4-1)
GK: Thibaut Courtois—8.2: Another stunning performance against Liverpool. Courtois was the only reason Real Madrid had a chance.
RB: Federico Valverde—7.1: Made light work of locking down Wirtz, but Real Madrid desperately needed Valverde’s control and vision in the midfield.
CB: Éder Militão—7.1: Not one of his better showings on a night where Los Blancos were crying out for a defensive leader.
CB: Dean Huijsen—6.4: Out of his depth. Huijsen’s night was defined by a careless mistake that nearly gifted Liverpool a goal and a head-scratching tackle in the midfield that earned him a spot in the referee’s book.
LB: Álvaro Carreras—7.1: Tested by the strength of Salah, but held firm. The left back committed the most tackles in the match.
DM: Aurélien Tchouaméni—7.5: Lucky to not give away a penalty. The Frenchman was often overwhelmed by the defensive duties he needed to deliver and lacked much support from his teammates.
RW: Eduardo Camavinga—6.1: A performance he’ll want back. Camavinga was sloppy in possession and had virtually no impact on the right wing.
AM: Arda Güler—6.8: Struggled to get involved and link up with Mbappé in a performance eerily similar to his Clásico showing.
AM: Jude Bellingham—7.2: Stuck tracking back for most of his outing and needlessly conceded the free kick that ultimately gave Liverpool the win.
LW: Vinícius Júnior—6.6: Added some much-needed sparks of life to Real Madrid’s attack, but once again relied too heavily on his dribbling ability and did not look to create enough chances for his teammates.
ST: Kylian Mbappé—7.0: Could not get anything going, even when he dropped deep to help his team muster any semblance of control at Anfield. Mbappé was a nonfactor for the first time this season.
Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran González (GK), Ferland Mendy, Fran García, Raúl Asencio, Dani Ceballos, Endrick, Gonzalo García.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: Giorgi Mamardashvili; Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz; Hugo Ekitiké.
Subs used: Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo, Milos Kerkez, Federico Chiesa.
Real Madrid Player of the Match: Thibaut Courtois
Player of the Match: Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
Liverpool 1–0 Real Madrid—How It Unfolded at Anfield
The bad habits from Carlo Ancelotti’s final campaign in charge came back to the surface as soon as the opening whistle sounded at Anfield. Real Madrid allowed Liverpool full control of the game, sitting back while the Reds dominated possession and tested Los Blancos’ backline.
The Spanish giants eventually settled into the game, but lacked inventiveness in the final third. Despite the acres of space on the right-hand side of the pitch, Real Madrid continuously overloaded the left flank with little success.
The pitch soon tilted back in favor of Liverpool, and a mistake by Dean Huijsen gave the Reds the first major opening of the game. Florian Wirtz pounced on the defender’s poor back pass and picked out a streaking Dominik Szoboszlai, who found himself one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian made a brilliant save with his outstretched right leg as he was going to ground, keeping the score level.
Thibaut Courtois with a HUGE save one on one 🧱 pic.twitter.com/T3wfhNTVWv
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 4, 2025
Slot’s men continued their relentless pressure and forced another mistake, this time by Aurélien Tchouaméni, just two minutes later at the half-hour mark. The Frenchman committed a handball inside the box, but a VAR review denied Liverpool a penalty.
Real Madrid breathed a sigh of relief at the call and headed down the tunnel with just two shots on target to their name, neither of which truly tested Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The hosts picked up right where they left off in the second half, forcing back-to-back great saves from Courtois yet again. Virgil van Dijk could do nothing but smile in disbelief when he saw his powerful header from close-range stopped by the goalkeeper.
Los Blancos were hanging on for dear life at Anfield, so much so that when Liverpool eventually took the lead in the 61st minute, it came as no surprise. Szoboszlai delivered a pinpoint free kick, which was conceded by Jude Bellingham, that Mac Allister headed home to put the Reds up 1–0.
Kylian Mbappé had a decent look at goal in the 75th minute, but his first-time strike sailed wide, and with it went Real Madrid’s hopes of getting back in the game.
The only other second-half highlight from the visitors came when Alexander-Arnold made his long-awaited return from injury to a chorus of loud whistles from the Liverpool supporters at Anfield.
An icy Anfield reception for Trent Alexander-Arnold as he returns to face his boyhood club 🥶 pic.twitter.com/C23fertReI
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 4, 2025
The England international played just eight minutes plus stoppage time at his former home before he had to swallow a bitter defeat alongside his new teammates.
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid Halftime Stats
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid Full Time Statistics
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Player Ratings vs. Liverpool: Lifeless Effort Spoils Alexander-Arnold’s Homecoming.