LIVERPOOL, England (AP):
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ has been near-unstoppable this season.
At Anfield yesterday, he hit a roadblock. Again.
For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0 in the Champions League, and Mbappé looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defences apart all season.
“We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappé individually.
But the France World Cup winner rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team that has been so defensively fragile for much of the campaign.
Mbappé arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games and having produced the kind of form that is likely to put him in contention to finally win the Ballon d’Or award. But he managed just three attempts throughout the match, with none of them hitting the target. Vinicius Junior, too, was largely kept on the fringes of the action.
Liverpool coach Arne Slot said he had sharpened the focus of his players before the match by reminding them of goal contributions made by Mbappé and Vinicius this season.
“I told the players before the game they [Madrid] have scored 26 goals in La Liga and Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius have 24 goal contributions together,” he said. “I don’t think you can ever control these two completely, but you can do a few things well.”
Mbappé’s best opportunity came in the second half with Madrid trailing Alexis Mac Allister’s 61st-minute header. Receiving the ball inside box, he shaped to curl a shot into the top corner — only for his effort to drift well wide of the goal.
It was a case of history repeating itself for Mbappé, who endured a miserable night at the same stadium last year when Madrid were again beaten by Liverpool in the league phase of European football’s elite competition.
On that occasion, Mbappé was guilty of missing a penalty that would have levelled the score before Liverpool went on to win 2-0.
At least he didn’t suffer the same indignity on this occasion, with Madrid kept well at bay by the Premier League champions.
Anfield is famed as one of the most daunting stadiums for away teams in Europe and a hostile atmosphere may have contributed to Mbappé’s struggles. The mood became even more intense when former Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold came on to loud jeers late in the match.
“I was impressed by the atmosphere throughout the whole 90 minutes,” Slot said.
It was the first time Madrid have failed to score all season and only their second loss in all competitions.
“I think we competed well,” Alonso said. “What was lacking today was, perhaps, (the ability) to hurt them in the final third and be a real threat.”
Champions League Results
Napoli 0-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Slavia Praha 0-3 Arsenal
Atlético 3-1 Union Saint-Gilloise
Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
Tottenham 4-0 Copenhagen
Olimpiacos 1-1 PSV
Juventus 1-1 Sporting
PSG 1-2 Bayern
Bodø/Glimt 0-1 Monaco
