MEW DELHI: After defeating champions Real Madrid 2-0 in their heavyweight match on Wednesday, Liverpool became the only side with a perfect record in this season’s Champions League. Other winners of the evening included Borussia Dortmund, last season’s runners-up.
Real Madrid tried to extend their winning streak against Liverpool to eight games at Anfield.
Alexis MacAllister gave Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders the lead early in the second half, but they were too powerful.
After an hour, Kylian Mbappe wasted a chance to equalize for Madrid after his penalty was saved, capping a disappointing evening.
On minute 76, Liverpool’s second goal was headed in by substitute Cody Gakpo after Mohamed Salah missed from the penalty spot at the opposite end.
They are the only team in this redesigned Champions League with five straight victories, and they are now assured of making it at least to the February knockout stage play-offs.
“You know how special it is to play against a club that won this Champions League so many times, are the reigning champions and were a pain in the ass for Liverpool many times as well,” said Slot.
Real Madrid is now in 24th place, the final qualifying berth for the knockout stage, with six points after losing three of their last five games.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti had words of comfort for their star French striker, saying: “This is a difficult moment for Mbappe. We will support him and give him love.”
With a 3-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, Inter Milan is in second place with 13 points, ahead of Barcelona and Dortmund with 12 each.
Dortmund took the lead thanks to a fantastic goal from English teenager Jamie Gittens in the first half. Ramy Bensebaini then headed in on minute 56, and Serhou Guirassy, a replacement, completed the victory in the closing minutes.
Prior to meeting Juventus, Aston Villa had gone six games without a win across all competitions, after starting the Champions League with three straight wins.
Morgan Rogers’ goal in stoppage time was disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio, denying the English team a 0-0 victory.
With three games left, Villa is one of seven teams on 10 points, narrowly outside the top eight spots that guarantee direct entrance to the round of 16.
Monaco lost to Benfica 3-2 at home in a thrilling match, missing the opportunity to secure their top-eight position.
Eliesse Monaco took the lead early thanks to Ben Seghir, but Vangelis Pavlidis scored just after halftime after taking advantage of a defensive blunder.
When defender Wilfried Singo was sent off for a second yellow, Monaco was down to 10 men, but Soungoutou Magassa’s goal gave them the lead again.
But in the end, Benfica’s numerical advantage won out when Zeki Amdouni grabbed the winner and Arthur Cabral headed home after 84 minutes.
Lille defeated Bologna, who are still without a win, 2-1 in Italy, bringing them closer to guaranteeing at least a play-off spot.
The French team’s hero was Ngal’ayel Mukau, a midfielder of Belgian descent, who scored two goals, including the first just before halftime.
Jhon Lucumi, a Colombian defender, gave Bologna an equalizer, but Mukau scored again at the 66-minute mark to give Lille their third victory in five games.
After a 1-1 draw in Glasgow, Celtic and Club Brugge are still on track for the playoffs. The Scottish champions had lost to a ridiculous own goal from Cameron Carter-Vickers, but Daizen Maeda’s incredible goal gave them a point.
PSV Eindhoven pulled off the night’s biggest comeback, defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 after falling behind 2-0.
At the Philips Stadion, the Ukrainians led 2-0 at the half thanks to goals from Oleksandr Zubkov and Danylo Sikan.
Pedro Henrique, a Brazilian full-back, was sent off after 69 minutes, but they collapsed in the closing minutes.
Malik Tillman equalized in the 90th minute with an incredible long-range effort after the goalie dragged his free-kick across the line in the 87th minute.
In the fifth extra minute, Ricardo Pepi, Tillman’s fellow American, subsequently scored the winning goal.
Red Star Belgrade defeated Stuttgart 5-1 in Serbia after rallying from behind to earn their first points.
The Germans took an early lead thanks to Ermedin Demirovic, but Silas Katompa Mvumpa, who was on loan from Stuttgart, pulled even before goals from Rade Krunic and Mirko Ivanic and a brace from Nemanja Radonjic.
After defeating Girona 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mika Biereth, Austrian champions Sturm Graz are likewise off the mark.