A spirited performance by a second-string Liverpool side ended in a 1-0 defeat to Champions League holders Real Madrid at the Bernabeu this evening.
Although Karim Benzema's first-half goal ensured Real's progression to the knockout stages, Liverpool pushed their opponents all the way and the performance will give Brendan Rodgers plenty to think about ahead of Saturday's clash with Chelsea.
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It took Madrid just three minutes to fire their first shot towards goal as James Rodriguez drew a fine save from Simon Mignolet.
Liverpool saw the majority of the ball in the opening 10 minutes, but a poor touch from Martin Skrtel allowed Benzema to nip in and Mignolet made another reflex save from Cristiano Ronaldo after the French striker had cut the ball back to his teammate.
Ronaldo continued to pose a threat and the Portuguese star was thwarted by Mignolet again, who made a comfortable save at his near post in the 18th minute.
Liverpool ventured forward on the odd occasion and Lazar Markovic found himself one on one with Raphael Varane after a positive run forward, but the centre-back eased his opponent off the ball as Real showed their superiority.
In the 27th minute, the home side eventually broke the deadlock when Benzema peeled off the back of Kolo Toure at the far post and lashed home from Marcelo's precise cross.
Ronaldo then tested Mignolet with a vicious free kick that the Belgian parried away to safety before Toure almost looped a clearance into the back of his own net, only for it to drop just over the bar.
Although Marcelo then fired a volley towards goal which stung the hands of Mignolet, the Reds did venture forward in numbers on the odd occasion, only for their final ball to let them down.
Madrid came flying out of the traps after the interval and Ronaldo should have done better than fire straight at Mignolet within three minutes of the restart.
Liverpool defended for the most part, but Alberto Moreno continued to foray forward on the left flank for the Reds and hit a shot at Iker Casillas from 25 yards before Adam Lallana came close with a strike from a similar range to remind the hosts that they were still in the game.
Sergio Ramos was then booked for a challenge on the edge of the box and Fabio Borini's resulting free kick deflected narrowly wide off the back of Luka Modric.
The worry for Liverpool was that they left bigger gaps at the back as they searched for a leveller and only a last-ditch Toure block prevented Ronaldo from getting his name on the scoresheet.
Benzema then found space at the far post from another Marcelo cross, but his strike flew wide with an open goal gaping.
With little more than 20 minutes remaining, Brendan Rodgers threw on Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard as he sensed the chance to gain at least a point from the game, but within minutes of their introduction Gareth Bale almost doubled Real's lead when he rattled the bar soon after his return from injury and Toni Kroos thumped a 30-yard strike over the bar.
The Welsh winger showed his class again with a lung-bursting run down the right wing, which Moreno could only halt with a cynical challenge which earned him a yellow card, and Bale forced Mignolet to punch away his 20-yard free kick.
Although Liverpool applied some late pressure, Real held on to pick up their fourth win in as many games in Group B and leave Liverpool with a fight to progress.
Kristian Johnson
