Courtesy: UEFA
On Tuesday, November 27, Kylian Mbappe was denied from the spot by goal-keeper Caoimhin Kelleher at Anfield as Real Madrid suffered a 0-2 defeat in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) against Liverpool. With this impressive victory, Liverpool went top of the UCL standings with five wins in five matches ahead of Inter Milan, Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund, while Real Madrid found themselves languishing at 24th place with just two wins and three defeats.
In the first half, Real Madrid allowed Liverpool to dictate terms with the ball, but they managed to defend well enough to keep the score 0-0 at half-time after Thibaut Courtois made three exceptional saves. The start of the second half, Alexis Mac Allister broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute as he fired one past Real Madrid goal-keeper into the bottom corner, to give Liverpool the 1-0 lead.
Cody Gakpo's goal allowed Liverpool to keep Real Madrid at bay in their UCL clash
Shortly after, when Lucas Vazquez was brought down in the box by Andy Robertson, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty, but Kylain Mbappe squandered the opportunity to bring his team back on level terms as Caoimhin Kelleher made a smart save to his left. Cody Gakpo nodded home a corner in the 76th minute, to give Liverpool a deserved 2-0 lead, which they managed to keep intact, to secure their fifth straight win in the UCL.
Watch the video of Caoimhin Kelleher saving Kylian Mbappe's penalty here:
After suffering their third defeat in five matches in the UCL, Real Madrid will now have to fight for a playoff spot, to progress further in the tournament which they have won the most times in history. For Liverpool, it will be important to keep the winning momentum going, and secure their passage into the knockout stages of the tournament by staying in the top eight spots in the standings.
