LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Kylian Mbappé has been nearly unstoppable this season.
At Anfield on Tuesday, he hit a roadblock. Also.
for 2 years in a rowReal Madrid forward had an unforgettable night on Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0 in the Champions LeagueAnd Mbappe looked like a shadow of the player who tore apart defenses all season.
“We lacked the threat in the final third,” Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said, without naming Mbappé.
But the French World Cup winner rarely found a breakthrough against a Liverpool team that had been defensively weak for much of the season.
Mbappe arrived at Anfield with 21 goals in 17 games and was in great form to potentially end up in the title race. ballon d’or award. However, he only made three successful attempts throughout the match, none of which went on target. Vinicius Junior also stayed away from the competition for the most part.
Liverpool manager Arne Slott said he kept his players focused before the match by reminding them of the goal contributions of Mbappé and Vinicius this season.
“I told the players before the game that they (Madrid) had scored 26 goals in La Liga and that Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius had contributed to 24 goals together,” he said. “I don’t think you’ll ever be able to completely control these two things, but you can do some things well.”
Mbappe’s best chance came in the second half, when Madrid equalized in the 61st minute with a header from Alexis Maka Alistair. Receiving the ball inside the box, he shaped up and fired a shot into the top corner, only for it to drift wide of the goal.
For Mbappé, it was a case of history repeating itself. Last year, Madrid again lost to Liverpool in a league match in Europe’s elite competition, spending a miserable night in the same stadium.
On that occasion, Mbappe was guilty of missing a penalty that would have leveled the score before Liverpool won 2-0.
At least this time he didn’t suffer a similar humiliation as Madrid were unable to keep the Premier League champions at bay.
Anfield is notorious as one of the most difficult stadiums for away teams in Europe, and the hostile atmosphere may have contributed to Mbappé’s struggles. The atmosphere became even more intense with the arrival of the former Liverpool star. Trent Alexander-Arnold jeered loudly. Late game.
“I was impressed with the atmosphere throughout the 90 minutes,” Slott said.
This was the first time that Madrid had failed to score a goal all season, and it was their second loss in all competitions.
“I think we competed well,” Alonso said. “What we were missing today was probably (the ability) to damage opponents in the final third and be a real threat.”
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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