Liverpool

Alexander Isak scored his maiden goal for Liverpool as the Reds ended their two-game EPL losing streak at West Ham.

Liverpool’s record signing Alexander Isak scored his first English Premier League goal for the Reds as the under-pressure football champions snapped a woeful run of form with a much-needed 2-0 win at West Ham United on Sunday.

Liverpool had endured their worst spell in over 70 years, losing nine of their previous 12 games, and manager Arne Slot took drastic measures, leaving Mohamed Salah out of his starting lineup for the first time in the Premier League.

Salah’s replacement Florian Wirtz looked sharp, though he squandered Liverpool’s best chance of the first half with his tame effort from close range, allowing goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to save.

Isak, who had looked short of form and fitness, spurned two opportunities before the break, drawing a fine reaction stop from Areola midway through the half.

But the Sweden striker slotted home a Cody Gakpo pullback on the hour mark to give the Reds the lead they marginally deserved and rarely looked like giving up.

Liverpool’s cause was helped by Lucas Paqueta, who was bizarrely booked twice for dissent within 60 seconds with less than 10 minutes to play, before Gakpo added a second goal in the 92nd minute to seal the three points.

Liverpool’s victory, only their second in eight league games, moved them up to eighth place with 21 points from 13 matches, while West Ham are 17th with 11 points, level with 18th-placed Leeds United.

Liverpool’s losing run ended by Isak

West Ham – whose players and fans paid tribute to former captain, coach and manager Billy Bonds, who died aged 79 on Sunday – came into the match after back-to-back home victories and had seemingly turned the corner.

But Liverpool ultimately had too much quality and, crucially for Slot, managed to keep their fifth clean sheet of the season after shipping 10 goals in their last three games.

Isak could have put Liverpool in front inside four minutes, but spooned his effort well over the bar, with his protracted move from Newcastle United still seemingly affecting him.

West Ham looked sharper after the break, with Paqueta sending an audacious half-volley from 30 yards narrowly wide as the home fans believed Liverpool were there for the taking.

In the 60th minute, however, Isak was left unmarked in the box as Liverpool recycled possession from a throw-in and the striker coolly side-footed into the bottom corner.

Paqueta saw red in the 83rd minute to make West Ham’s task all the harder before Gakpo sent the home fans streaming for the exits with a clinical finish.

Despite Liverpool’s poor run of form, sources have told BBC Sport that Slot’s position is not under imminent threat.

He has credit in the bank following his Premier League title-winning debut season, while there has been reflection at Anfield that it was a difficult summer of the club with Diogo Jota’s death and the £400m investment attempting to regenerate the squad.

Sporting director Hughes and chief executive Michael Edwards were key in Slot’s appointment, and the Dutchman retains their backing.

Liverpool do not make snap decisions and afforded Brendan Rodgers more than three seasons as manager despite finishing outside the top four twice.

There is, however, internal concern about Mohamed Salah’s performances, with a noticeable drop off in his form.

He is their key forward player but Liverpool’s best attacking performance in the past 12 games came in a 5-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt – a game Salah did not start.

The Egyptian has scored seven goals in 25 games since his new contract was announced in April, which would be viewed as a good return for some, but the 33-yar-old is judged by standards he has set during his eight years at the club.

Looking ahead to January, Liverpool are interested in reviving their move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi after missing out on the final day of the summer transfer window.

Guehi, who is available for a free transfer in July but has multiple options in England and across Europe, is able to discuss the terms of his next contract with clubs from outside of England in just four weeks’ time.

Boss Arne Slot says Liverpool must “fight together” after Wednesday’s humiliating 4-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven at Anfield was the Reds’ ninth loss in 12 games – their worst run in 71 years.

READ MORE: As Liverpool hit ‘new low’ – is Slot’s job at risk?

Liverpool’s stellar start was followed by a run of six defeats in seven matches that sparked concern and talk of a crisis.

Things started to look up earlier in November, with victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid lifting morale and offering hope of a return to form.

But they ultimately proved not to provide a permanent change in their fortunes, but a momentary respite.

A 3-0 defeat by Manchester City just before the international break was tough, but can happen against Pep Guardiola’s side.

But a setback by the same scoreline to Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest left them 12th in the Premier League and now followed by this embarrassing loss against PSV – only their second at Anfield in their past 26 pre-knockout stage games in this competition.

It has left Slot with a massive task on his hands to return his side to the top half of the Premier League and remain in the hunt for a top-eight place in the Champions League league phase, having slipped down to 13th.

“I don’t think there should be a knee-jerk reaction, I think this is a very tough moment at Liverpool for one reason or another, but the one thing I’d say is that things weren’t right at the start of the season either, when they were winning,” added Warnock.

Sacking managers at the first sign of trouble is not a tactic Liverpool have frequently deployed. Let’s not forget too that last year Slot oversaw the best ever start – eight wins in his first 10 top-flight games – by a Reds boss, having just replaced Jurgen Klopp.

But his summer signings have not worked, putting him under pressure.

Record transfer Alexander Isak is still yet to get off the mark, German playmaker Florian Wirtz is currently injured and left-back Milos Kerkez continues to struggle.

Yet on Wednesday, Slot made just two substitutions as his side trailed. One was Isak for fellow new signing Hugo Ekitike, who looked to have picked up an injury, while the other was Italy forward Federico Chiesa for Ibrahima Konate during another tough evening for the French defender.

“This run is a shock for everyone,” admitted Slot.

“For the players, for me. I don’t easily shock and it’s very unexpected. We can all do better individually, but that goes for everyone including myself.”

The brightest spark has perhaps been Dominik Szoboszlai.

Reinstated in his role in central midfield against PSV, he provided not only a goal, but energy and an attacking threat, while going some way to proving there are significantly better uses for him than as a stand-in right-back.

“With each defeat it gets closer to being a crisis,” former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard told TNT Sports. “I don’t think Liverpool are at that [yet] – crisis is too strong.

“There are no excuses for a performance like that at this football club

“You cannot deny the team is struggling massively, they are on a terrible run, their confidence is at an all-time low, they are wide open.

“Unless the manager can find answers and stability in his team, then this situation is going to continue.”

PSV, though, was never going to be an easy fixture for Slot to try to get his players back on track.

The former Feyenoord boss has only won one of his past eight games against the Eredivisie outfit in all competitions (D3 L4), and against no side has he suffered more defeats in his managerial career.

Slot says he is not worrying about his future at the club and is instead focused on turning things around.

“I need to do better, that’s what I’m trying to do every single day to improve the team and that is where my main focus is,” added the 47-year-old.

Vinicius Junior will not sign a new deal at Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool will keep an eye on his situation, while Liverpool have held concrete talks over a move for Antoine Semenyo.

Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, 25, has told Real Madrid he does not intend to renew his contract which expires in the summer of 2027, because of a strained relationship with manager Xabi Alonso. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Liverpool, Manchester United and several other Premier League clubs are keeping a keen eye on Vinicius’ situation. (Mirror), external

Liverpool have already held concrete talks over a move for Bournemouth and Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo, 25, and are aware of his £65m release clause. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Manchester United and Chelsea have both scouted RB Leipzig and Germany midfielder Assan Ouedraogo, 19. (Sky Sports Germany – in German), external

Marseille want to hold talks with Brighton about signing Denmark midfielder Matt O’Riley, 25, permanently in January. (Sky Sports), external

European giants AC Milan are plotting a spectacular move for Crystal Palace and France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, 28. (Teamtalk), external

Premier League clubs are expected to queue up to sign Atletico Madrid and England midfielder Conor Gallagher in January, provided the Spanish club agree to sell or loan out the 25-year-old former Chelsea player. (Sky Sports), external

Paris St-Germain have joined Real Madrid in the race for Bayern Munich and France defender Dayot Upamecano, 27, who looks set to become a free agent at the end of the season. (Sky Sports Germany – in German), external

Wolves and Brazil midfielder Joao Gomes, 24, has had his head turned by Manchester United’s interest in him and would be keen on a January move. (Teamtalk), external

Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, 31, is likely to leave Manchester City when his contract expires at the end of the season. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Chelsea and Arsenal will fight to sign Marseille’s French striker Robinio Vaz, 18, who is valued between 20 and 30m euros (£17.6m to £25.5m). (Caught Offside), external

Atletico Madrid are considering a move for Marseille forward Mason Greenwood, 24, with the Englishman valued at about £70m. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

The UK’s Christmas markets are back and bigger than ever, with a huge variety of food and drink on offer – but Christopher Megrath made a mistake with during his first visit

The Liverpool Christmas Markets are in full swing, with a tantalising array of mouth-watering scents wafting through St George’s Plateau.

The North West city’s festive fair has been named one of the nine best in the country this year, following a poll of Which? readers. It outperformed its larger sibling market in Manchester.

Clarke Events, the masterminds behind the markets, have hinted that this could be the “best year yet”, and they might just be right. The annual market attracts thousands of visitors each year, and with the event running until Christmas Eve, there’s ample time for shoppers to pop by and soak up the festive vibes.

Since relocating from Church Street in 2016, the markets have found a successful home at St George’s Plateau. Christopher was among the first wave of visitors when the gates opened this morning and was instantly spoilt for choice.

In a moment of gastronomic folly shortly after arriving at the Liverpool market, Reach’s Christopher Megrath made a beeline for one of the most ostentatious food trucks in sight – a decision he would soon rue.

Nestled towards the back of the plateau, near St John’s Gardens, is the festive pie truck. With four fillings on offer and all the trimmings, it was Christopher’s first port of call on this culinary Christmas journey.

Christopher was warmly welcomed by two delightful staff members who good-naturedly ribbed him for ordering at the wrong side. The ensuing chat was a surprisingly pleasant exchange he hadn’t anticipated over a pie, reports the Liverpool Echo.

On offer were beef, ham and vegetable pies, but Christopher opted for turkey with all the trimmings, smothered in gravy. For those wanting a bit more, apple sauce and cranberry are also available.

After bidding goodbye to the traders, Christopher found the most inviting patch of damp ground to sit and tuck into his meal.

Christopher’s cardboard pot was filled with a turkey pie, two pigs in blankets, a couple of carrots and Brussels sprouts, a dollop of mashed potato and stuffing, all smothered in just the right amount of gravy, setting him back £13.

The filling was predominantly vegetables, including cabbage, turnip and even more Brussels sprouts, interspersed with a few chunks of turkey. The crust was a bit on the tough side for his liking, but the filling was scrumptious.

It took him about five minutes to polish off the lot, ensuring not a drop of gravy was wasted.

Overall, Christopher relished the meal, but quickly realised that starting his market visit with a makeshift roast on-the-go was a terrible idea. He spent another hour meandering around the grounds, sampling light bites and sweet treats, but the festive pie had done him in.

Christopher was delightfully stuffed.

If you want to keep your energy levels up for the rest of the evening, Christopher would recommend visiting the truck at the end of your journey. Christopher felt like taking a nap afterwards. Do make sure to sample a bit of everything, as the variety on offer is truly splendid, he explained.

Liverpool Christmas Market is also set to tantalise taste buds with a vast array of international flavours. Regular favourites will include Yorkshire pudding wraps, bratwurst, noodles, salt and pepper chicken, halloumi, Greek gyros and souvlaki, roast pork baps, mac n cheese, burgers, siu mai, donuts, waffles, crepes, fudge, sweets, home bakes and hot crumble pudding.

For those with a sweet tooth, there’ll be brownies, cookies, hot cookie dough, candy floss, popcorn, toasted marshmallows, fresh baked macaroons, churros, candy and hot roasted chestnuts. A full list of traders and prices can be found here.

Webb, speaking on the Match Officials Mic’d Up show, said that while he accepted there would be a difference of opinion, there were valid reasons for the goal to be ruled out.

“Interfering with an opponent where the offside position player doesn’t play the ball and the officials have to make a judgment whether the actions of that player impact an opponent, are some of the most subjective decisions that we have to make,” said Webb.

“Therefore, it’s no surprise that some people believe this goal should have stood, so I think it’s important that we look at the facts of what actually happened in this situation.

“We know the corner comes in and the ball reaches Van Dijk. As the ball’s coming across the penalty area, the Manchester City players move out, they leave Robertson in that offside position in the heart of the six-yard box.

“When Van Dijk heads the ball forward, that’s the moment when we have to make an offside judgment about Robertson and about what he’s doing there.

“We know he doesn’t touch the ball but what does he do? Well, as the ball moves towards him, three yards out from goal, right in the middle of the six-yard box, he makes that clear action to duck below the ball.

“The ball goes just over his head, and the ball finds the goal in the half of the six-yard box where he is. Then, the officials have to make a judgment – did that clear action impact on Donnarumma, the goalkeeper, and his ability to save the ball? And that’s where the subjectivity comes into play.

“Obviously that’s the conclusion they drew on that. They looked at that position, they looked at that action, so close to the goalkeeper, and they formed that opinion.

“I know that’s not a view held by everybody but I think it’s not unreasonable to understand why they would form that conclusion.

“The player is so close to the goalkeeper, the ball’s coming right towards him and he has to duck to get out of the way of the ball – and they form the conclusion that that impacts Donnarumma’s ability just to dive towards the ball and make that save.

“And then, of course, once they’ve made that on-field decision, the job of the VAR is to look at that and decide, was the outcome of offside clearly and obviously wrong?

“Only Donnarumma truly knows if he was impacted by this and, of course, we have to look at the factual evidence, and when we see that factual evidence of that position of the player ducking below the ball, so close to the goalkeeper, the VAR determines that the outcome of offside is not clearly and obviously wrong, and they stay out of it.”

Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy believes Jeremy Doku had “the best game he’s ever had in a Manchester City shirt” as Pep Guardiola’s side dominanted Liverpool in a 3-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.

MATCH REPORT: Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool

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Manchester City celebrated Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game in management with a statement 3-0 win over Liverpool to close to within four points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Erling Haaland shrugged off missing an early penalty on Sunday to head in his 99th Premier League goal before Nico Gonzalez’s deflected effort and a wonder strike from Jeremy Doku confirmed City’s status as Arsenal’s major title rivals.

Liverpool have now lost four of their last five league games to leave the defending champions down in eighth, eight points off the top.

Arsenal’s 10-game winning run came to an end in a 2-2 draw at Sunderland on Saturday and Guardiola’s men took full advantage in the battle of the two sides that have dominated English football’s Premier League over the past decade.

Even if decisions went against Arne Slot’s men, this was another display of how far they have fallen since cruising to a 2-0 win at the Etihad in February.

The Reds showed signs of a revival in beating Aston Villa and Real Madrid in the past eight days, but had no answer to the slickness of a rejuvenated City, who have won 11 of their last 14 games in all competitions.

Conor Bradley shut down the threat of Madrid’s Vinicius Junior on Tuesday, but was given a torrid time by the pace and trickery of Doku down City’s left.

Early in the first half, Doku made the most of Ibrahima Konate’s clearance off Bradley to round Giorgi Mamardashvili before his trailing leg was clipped by the Georgian goalkeeper.

Referee Chris Kavanagh was initially unmoved, but pointed to the spot after a VAR review.

Haaland has struck 28 times already this season for club and country, but has yet to score for City from the penalty spot in 2025-26.

Mamardashvili redeemed himself by getting down low to his left to turn the Norwegian’s penalty to safety to briefly lift the mood among the Liverpool players and travelling support.

City remained in control of the game, though, as Rayan Cherki’s effort was deflected wide before Mamardashvili turned Doku’s strike after another mazy run into the side netting.

Haaland has only failed to score in two of his 18 appearances this season, and duly delivered with a looping header to meet Matheus Nunes’s wicked delivery at 29 minutes.

Liverpool thought they were level nine minutes later, when van Dijk’s header from a corner arrowed into the far corner.

However, Andrew Robertson ducked out of the way of his captain’s effort and was deemed to have interfered with Gianluigi Donnarumma from an offside position.

Instead of going in all square, City rubbed salt in the wounds of Liverpool’s perceived injustice.

The visitors were slow to get out from a corner, and Gonzalez had time to take aim before his shot deflected off van Dijk to wrong-foot Mamardashvili.

Liverpool only had themselves to blame for not getting back in the game early in the second period as Cody Gakpo blazed over with the goal gaping at the end of a fine move involving Mohamed Salah and Bradley.

But Doku fittingly rounded off arguably his best performance in three seasons at City to seal a statement victory.

The Belgian jinked inside the leaden-footed Konate before curling into the top corner from outside the box.

Salah summed up Liverpool’s day and season so far when he dinked wide a glorious chance 10 minutes from time.

Despite the visitors’ need for goals, Slot left 125-million-pound ($165m) striker Alexander Isak on the bench for the entire match due to his lack of match fitness.

The decision to tear up the squad that coasted to the title with a near 450-million-pound ($692m) spend in the transfer window looks more misguided by the game as Liverpool find themselves in a battle just to make the top four rather than the title race.

After the game, Doku told Sky Sports that he was very happy with the team’s performance.

“It is always good for the confidence [to dominate a match], but I have great players around me. That gives me the feeling that I have to do more in every game and every day I want to improve,” he said.

Van Dijk said Liverpool struggled to recover from a difficult first half.

“Our pressing just wasn’t good enough; it should have been better. We need to find more consistency. Losing hurts, always, but 3-0 especially,” he said.

“There were some good moments in the game, but you play Man City at home, who can make it very difficult. The focus should be on reflecting on this when we come back and then fight again.”

Earlier on Sunday, Aston Villa thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 to move into seventh place in the Premier League. But Newcastle United’s poor domestic form continued as they slumped to defeat at Brentford.

Nottingham Forest ended a winless Premier League run stretching back to the first weekend of the season as they came from behind to beat Leeds United 3-1 at the City Ground.

Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion shared the spoils in a dour 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the match as City host rivals Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.

Who: Manchester City vs Liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
When: Sunday at 4:30pm (16:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 13:30 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.

Games between Manchester City and Liverpool have often been regarded as key battles in Premier League title races in recent seasons, but Sunday’s encounter may merely point to which of the two clubs is best equipped to try to chase league leaders Arsenal.

By the time the weekend’s big game kicks off at the Etihad Stadium, Arsenal – who visit surprise-package Sunderland on Saturday – could be 10 points clear of champions Liverpool and nine ahead of Pep Guardiola’s City.

That scenario would increase the pressure on City and Liverpool, who head into the last round of fixtures before another international stoppage second and third respectively.

There are signs that both clubs are finding form. City have lost only once in their last 13 games in all competitions and on Wednesday pummelled Borussia Dortmund 4-1 in the Champions League with Erling Haaland scoring his 18th club goal this season and a rejuvenated Phil Foden bagging a brace.

Liverpool have also emerged from a run of six defeats in seven matches in all competitions to beat Aston Villa and Real Madrid in their last two games.

Guardiola ‘desperate to play against Liverpool’

City lost home and away to the Reds last season as they were dethroned as champions, and City boss Pep Guardiola admitted he was surprised at Liverpool’s stumbles this season.

“Of course, but sometimes it’s about momentum,” Guardiola stated. “All the clubs are there except Arsenal, who are more consistent than anyone.

“But the season is long, so we try to be there and see what happens. To be hones,t I’m so excited and happy to prepare for Sunday. I’m desperate to play against Liverpool.”

Foden is ‘back’ warns City’s boss

The City and England forward lit up the win over Dortmund, scoring twice to register his first European goals this season and double his tally in all competitions.

City’s star academy graduate struggled for much of last season, opening up about off-field issues and injuries that affected him, but the signs are that the 25-year-old is back to his best, having been the stand-out player in City’s Premier League-winning 2023/24 campaign.

“Phil is back,” Guardiola said. “How many times have we seen Phil score these type of goals? We miss this a lot last season but this season I think he is going to help us a lot.”

Guardiola added, “He’s a special player [and] we need his goals and hopefully today was the first step to do it. It’s important to have him for the big, big match on Sunday [against Liverpool].”

Van Dijk says Liverpool must build from the back

Prior to a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, Liverpool had gone 10 matches without a clean sheet.

“It is easy to say now because we won twice in a row. In a world of chaos you have to stay calm and see perspective of things,” captain Virgil van Dijk said. “We all know how football works – it can change overnight.”

Liverpool face another huge test of their title defence on Sunday when Van Dijk faces Haaland, who has struck 26 times this season for club and country.

“You can see at the moment Arsenal are flying, and it is down to clean sheets and not conceding chances,” added Van Dijk.

“We have the quality to hurt anyone on the break – it starts with the defending. Today, you saw the hard work.

“We have to keep going. Sunday is going to be another difficult one.”

Slot looking forward to ‘Clasico’ against City

Liverpool boss Arne Slot said he was not surprised by his team’s return to form to win their last two games, but warned that playing at Manchester City would pose a far more difficult challenge.

“Our main focus is on consistency at the moment, as you know we’ve lost a few games, much more than we usually do … We were consistent but we were consistently losing. That wasn’t the idea,” a laughing Slot told reporters ahead of Sunday’s clash.

“It wasn’t a surprise for me how the last two games went. It was helpful that the other team did what we expected them to do,” he added.

Slot said Guardiola’s City were his immediate focus rather than the league table.

“Similar to the ‘Clasico,’ these are the few games everyone is looking forward to,” he said.

“What I like about Pep Guardiola’s teams is that 10 out of 10 times you get what you are hoping for – a great game of football, no time wasting or those kinds of things that I start to dislike more and more about football,” Slot said.

Head-to-head

Liverpool boast by far the better win ratio from the two clubs’ 218 encounters, with the Reds winning 110 matches, City winning 60, and 58 ending as draws.

The Reds’ league double over City last year included a 2-0 win at the Etihad in February, courtesy of goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai, that sent the eventual champions 11 points clear of City.

City’s last win over the Reds was a 4-1 thrashing at the Etihad in April 2023, on a tense day that included an apparent attack by Liverpool fans on the City team bus and Guardiola being accused of disrespectfully celebrating directly in front of Liverpool substitutes.

City’s team news

Guardiola seems to have the luxury of a fully-fit squad to choose from, with talismanic midfielder Rodri set to come into the team after recovering from injury to likely form a double-pivot with Nico Gonzalez.

While left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri has recovered from injury, Nico O’Reilly has excelled in his absence and may be the one tasked with trying to shackle Salah.

City’s predicted starting lineup

Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Rodri, Gonzalez; Cherki, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Liverpool’s team news

The Reds’ first choice keeper Alisson Becker remains injured, but Liverpool have the impressive Giorgi Mamardashvili to rely on between the sticks instead.

Slot confirmed that record signing Alexander Isak may be fit enough to make the squad following a groin problem but he may not be risked, while Curtis Jones is back in training after also suffering a groin injury.

Conor Bradley put in a sensational defensive display against Real Madrid in midweek and will surely retain his spot at right-back with Jeremie Frimpong ruled out for another six weeks, while Andy Robertson also impressed at left-back and may start again as new signing Milos Kerkez continues to adjust to life at Liverpool.

Liverpool’s predicted starting lineup

Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Ekitike

It was only the shadow of brilliant Real keeper Thibaut Courtois that threatened to stop Liverpool getting what they merited, with a stunning individual performance that revived memories of how he defied them when Jurgen Klopp’s team lost the 2022 Champions League final in Paris.

The Belgian made a string of magnificent saves, including four from Dominik Szoboszlai and a remarkable reflex stop from Virgil van Dijk’s header, before even he was powerless to stop Mac Allister’s header from the Hungarian’s free-kick.

Liverpool’s narrow victory margin does not touch the sides of their domination from first whistle to last, these crucial three points pushing them into sixth place in the Champions League table, a standing that will put them in the last 16 without the need to resort to a play-off if maintained.

Szoboszlai and Mac Allister ruled midfield, while Florian Wirtz provided some of the subtle touches that made his name at Bayer Leverkusen. Hugo Ekitike was a constant menace.

Liverpool were, unlike so often this season, rock solid at the back as Kylian Mbappe was marginalised, delivering a dreadful, error-strewn display. Vinicius had been beaten by Bradley long before the end.

If it was a miserable night for Alexander-Arnold, it was not much better for Jude Bellingham, offered the Anfield stage to deliver a reminder of his class before England head coach Thomas Tuchel names his squad to face Serbia and Albania after excluding him last time.

He provided one moment of danger in the first half when he forced Giorgi Mamardashvili to save with his legs, but was otherwise anonymous as Real failed to establish any sort of stranglehold.

Bellingham conceded the free-kick in a dangerous position that led to Mac Allister’s goal, offering little as Real tried to force their way back into contention, although he was not alone there.

He offered words of sympathy to Alexander-Arnold: “Obviously, it is one of those things in football. The fans booing isn’t a reflection of how they feel about him.

“I think it is more to give their team the edge and throw him off a little bit. I am sure they’re appreciative of what he has done for the club.”

Alexander-Arnold, once an Anfield idol, probably could not wait to get back to his new Madrid home, while life for Liverpool suddenly looks much brighter ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Manchester City at Etihad Stadium.

BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha and tactics correspondent Umir Irfan join Sam Harris to discuss Trent Alexander-Arnold’s tough return to Anfield with Real Madrid.

READ MORE: Liverpool ‘back to their best’ as they dominate Real Madrid

WATCH: On-the-whistle reaction on BBC iPlayer

Warnock said: “There is a great player in Conor Bradley, but he needs to stay fit and get a run of games to build up a relationship with Salah. These things can take time, even with the best players.

“Trent leaving has had an impact on Salah. Their partnership, if not exactly unnoticed, was almost taken as read. Yes, they are world-class individuals, but it was also a partnership.

“They really complemented each other. Trent could go inside, draw people towards him, which freed up more space for Salah. And when Salah drove at people he had the ability to feed Trent because teams were backing off.”

Alexander-Arnold’s comfort in possession with his fellow defenders, plus the ability to move into midfield, means his presence is also sorely missed elsewhere.

Warnock said: “I think Ibrahima Konate probably misses him as well. He knew he could give Trent the ball under pressure. I think it is having an impact on the right-hand side of the pitch, both in defence and attack.

“Liverpool also created a box system in the centre of midfield, which they did so well, when Trent was in the side.

“There was a lot of praise given to Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, but Trent was a big part of that as well. Losing that extra body in the midfield area, when he was in there, is also missed because opponents were drawn to him, fearful of what he could create.”

Jeremie Frimpong, signed in a £29m deal from Bayer Leverkusen to compete with Bradley for the place vacated by Alexander-Arnold, has had his Anfield start curtailed by hamstring injuries.

Warnock said: “The biggest issue with Frimpong is not only injuries, but what is his best position? At Bayer Leverkusen he spent a lot of time as a right wing-back.”

“It doesn’t hurt me. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things but I feel that comment is just I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism.

“It’s easy to blame the other players but he knows we do it together, trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this. Last year when things go well you don’t hear that at all. It is what it is.

“[Pundits] have to do that job. He has an opinion and we have to deal with it. There’s no hard feelings. I don’t take it personally.”

Liverpool are third in the Premier League and seven points behind leaders Arsenal heading into a two crucial games this week.

Slot’s side host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday before they visit Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

“I’ve heard the reports as well about [Slot] being under pressure, but I don’t think we play at a club that makes rash decisions,” added Van Dijk.

“We all felt that we can work our way out of this. It’s not a guarantee, but we can do it together. As long as we believe, stay humble and keep working, we can do it, and we all have that feeling.”

Liverpool forward Mia Enderby has been taken to hospital with a suspected neck injury following her side’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.

She appeared to land on her neck after jumping for an aerial challenge and was taken from the field on a stretcher.

There were 22 minutes of stoppage time played at the end of the match, owing largely to Enderby’s injury.

Enderby, 20, has featured in all six of Liverpool’s Women’s Super League games this season and started against Spurs.

Former Sheffield United player Enderby signed a new two-year deal in the summer, having made 42 appearances and scored six goals in her first two seasons with the club.

Liverpool are already without Marie Hobinger and Sophie Roman Haug, who suffered anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries before the international break.

The Reds are second-bottom at the WSL, having failed to pick up any points from their first six matches.

Follow our live build-up, with full team news coverage, ahead of our comprehensive text commentary stream.