Karim Benzema scored late winner as Real Madrid completed a Champions League double over Liverpool at Santiago Bernabeu.
Starting Lineup
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho; Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos; Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Liverpool: Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; James Milner, Fabinho; Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota; Darwin Nunez.
Real Madrid got the game underway in style forcing it on Liverpool with a lot of action in the Liverpool box.
The heavy pressure on the Liverpool box resulted in a marathon of corner kicks conceded by the away side.
Vinicius Jr was a thorn in the flesh of Konate and Alexander Arnold on the left flank. His pace, skill and dribbles were a great leverage for Real Madrid.
Alisson Becker was forced into a dangerous save after Vinicius Jr nearly crashed an outswinger into the net.
The Reds came under intense pressure going forward and were forced into their box early in the game with the defending champions showing a perfect and domineering display despite a commanding first-leg lead.
With 15 minutes into the game, Real Madrid were threateningly ahead on the number of attempts. They had attempted five shots with two on target while Liverpool had only a shot on target.
The home side continued to hold sway through the game with Liverpool looking to break quick counter to launch attacks.
The Reds began to raise their tentacles in the game in the 20th minute, jamming Los Blancos back into their half for the first time in the game as they passed the ball around but it was a tricky one for the visitors.
Real Madrid’s roving middle were big wedges to Liverpool’s attempt to break in for a cool drive into the box, but the Reds had effectively curtailed early pressure and were wielding enough possession with threats.
In the 30th minute, Thibaut Courtois produced a diving stunning save to deny Darwin Nunez’s right-footed strike from inside the box.
Gody Gakpo again fired another thunderbolt at Thibaut Courtois who pointed it out for a corner kick a few minutes after Darwin Nunez’s strike.
The Reds were gradually gathering threats upfront but had to check on a quick counter by Real Madrid targeting Vinicius Jr on the flanks to drive the attack.
Both sides failed to find the back of the net after a dragging first half that saw Alisson Becker and Thibaut Courtois produce clinical saves to retain the virgin scoreline.
Jurgen Klopp darted quickly down the tunnel to meet the players after the first half break. The Reds faced an uphill task to overturn the first-leg deficit in the last 45 minutes after blanking in the first half.
The second half got underway with both sides coming across early chances to break the goal deadlock. Valverde came on a one-on-one chance with Alisson but the Red’s goalie was fast enough to block the ball.
Mohamed Salah squandered a golden opportunity after he failed to exploit the acres of space in front of Nunez, sending a weak pass that was cleared by Real Madrid’s last man.
Jurgen Klopp made a double substitution in the 57th minute bringing on Ellliot and Firminho for Jota and Nunez. The scoreline was still barren with the hour mark crossed.
In the 78th minute, Real Madrid took the lead after Karim Benzema easily tucked home Vinicius Jr’s flick to give the home side a deserved lead.
The defending champions held on to the narrow 1-0 win to complete a double over the Reds and progress to the quarterfinal with a 6-2 aggregate victory.
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