Liverpool Top Champions League After Real Madrid Victory, Dortmund Also Win

Liverpool maintained their perfect record in this season’s Champions League by defeating reigning champions Real Madrid 2-0 in an intense match on Wednesday. This victory left Liverpool as the only team to win all their group-stage matches so far. In another key match, Borussia Dortmund, last season’s runners-up, also secured a win. At Anfield, Real Madrid had hoped to extend an unbeaten streak of eight games against Liverpool, but the Premier League leaders proved too strong.

Liverpool took the lead early in the second half with Alexis MacAllister’s goal. Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe had a chance to level the score but saw his penalty saved after an hour. Mohamed Salah also missed from the spot at the other end, but substitute Cody Gakpo sealed the win for Liverpool with a header in the 76th minute. This makes Liverpool the only team with five wins from five matches and guarantees their place in the knockout stage in February.

Real Madrid now have three losses from five games, leaving them in a precarious position with just six points, currently sitting in 24th place, the last qualifying spot for the knockout round. Madrid’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti, reassured Mbappe, expressing support for the French striker during this tough period.

Elsewhere, Inter Milan are second in the group with 13 points, followed by Barcelona and Dortmund, each with 12. Dortmund enjoyed a 3-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb, with Jamie Gittens scoring an excellent first-half goal. Ramy Bensebaini doubled the lead after the break, and Serhou Guirassy finished off the win late in the match.

In other results, Aston Villa, who had started the competition with three straight victories, played to a 0-0 draw with Juventus. Villa were denied a late winner when Morgan Rogers’ goal was ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper. Villa remains just outside the top eight, with 10 points.

Monaco missed the chance to secure a top-eight spot, suffering a 3-2 loss at home to Benfica in a dramatic match. Despite an early lead from Eliesse Ben Seghir and a second-half goal from Soungoutou Magassa, Benfica capitalized on Monaco’s red card and secured the win with goals from Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni.

Lille moved closer to securing a play-off spot with a 2-1 win over Bologna. Ngal’ayel Mukau was the hero for Lille, scoring both goals, with Colombian defender Jhon Lucumi equalizing for Bologna before Mukau’s decisive strike.

Celtic and Club Brugge kept their hopes for play-off spots alive with a 1-1 draw in Glasgow. Daizen Maeda’s stunning strike earned the hosts a point after they had fallen behind due to a bizarre own goal by Cameron Carter-Vickers.

PSV Eindhoven staged a dramatic comeback to beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2. After being 2-0 down at half-time, PSV capitalized on a red card to Shakhtar’s Pedro Henrique and equalized with two late goals from Malik Tillman, including a brilliant long-range shot in the 90th minute. Ricardo Pepi then scored the winner in the fifth added minute.

Finally, Red Star Belgrade secured their first points with a dominant 5-1 win over Stuttgart. Despite Stuttgart taking an early lead, Red Star bounced back with goals from Silas Katompa Mvumpa, Rade Krunic, Mirko Ivanic, and a brace from Nemanja Radonjic. Sturm Graz also earned their first points with a 1-0 win over Girona, courtesy of a goal from Mika Biereth.