Premier League side Liverpool brought their domestic struggles to the Champions League, making unwanted history in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie with Real Madrid.
It initially looked like Liverpool would dominate the proceedings after hitting two quick goals in the opening 15 minutes at home in Anfield. Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah opened the scoring and made it 2-0, certainly stunning the reigning champions.
However, the lead didn't last, with Vinicius Jr. responding with a brace in a span of 15 minutes as well to tie the game. After cutting the lead to just one with a precise shot in the 21st minute, the Brazilian youngster benefited from an Alisson Becker goalkeeping mistake to tie things up in the 36th minute.
The momentum was on Real Madrid's side from there on, and the Spanish giants piled more misery on Liverpool right at the start of the second half. An Edgar Militao header made it 3-2 for Los Blancos, and Karim Benzema added a double of his own around the hour mark to seal the 5-2 win.
With the shocking turnaround and brutal defeat, Liverpool made the ugly history of conceding five goals in the Champions League for the first time ever. Not only that, but it's the first time they did so in a European Cup game at Anfield, basically putting an end to their home dominance.
Over the past century, Liverpool have only conceded five goals in two different occasions, with a 5-5 draw with Arsenal in 2021 the last time it happened before Tuesday's disaster, per Squawka.
For only the third time this century, Liverpool have conceded five goals at Anfield:
◎ 3-6 vs Arsenal (2007)
◎ 5-5 vs Arsenal (2021)
◉ 2-5 vs Real Madrid (2023)It's the first time they have ever conceded five at home in European competition. 😲 pic.twitter.com/ZpbziOwsnn
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 21, 2023
Of course things are not yet over for Liverpool. They still have the second leg to avenge that defeat. But after their latest showing, there won't be much confidence that the team can bounce back from it, especially with the hole they dug themselves into.