Not even sensational Courtois could save pale Madrid from dazzling Liverpool

Arne Slot and Liverpool are finally just as their fans want them to see - sharp, concrete and determined to fight against the best teams in the world and to beat them!

The Reds clinched a much-deserved 1-0 Champions League home win against Real Madrid on Tuesday night at Anfield despite Thibaut Courtois' magical performance.

Los Blancos' veteran keeper saved his side's dignity with almost a dozen incredible saves in both halves. The home side would have been in front even before the break, with a serious margin, if it weren't for the Belgian. The way Courtois stopped Dominic Szoboszlai's close-range effort with his right leg can be described only as out of this world.

It was just the prelude of what was about to happen in the rest of the match, as the tall shot-stopper kept finding ways to deny various efforts of Liverpool players.

When he stopped Van Dijk's and Ekitike's headers in the span of just a minute or two, many of the Scousers in the stands were so frustrated that you could see it clearly on their faces. The unwritten football rule says that those kinds of things usually end up in a deserved punishment on the other end, but that wasn't the case this time.

Unlike Courtois, the rest of Xabi Alonso's team was nowhere near the expected level - including Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe. On the other hand, Slot's men kept pushing for the opener and were rewarded for that sort of approach around the hour mark. Szoboszlai's free-kick landed on Alexis Mac Allister's head in the middle of the box, and one of the least tall players on the pitch buried it just above Courtois' head. Still, the keeper's instinctive reaction was almost good enough to deny the opener.

In truth, it would be an injustice if it unfolded that way, because the hosts deserved to get in front after so many goal-scoring opportunities in front of a packed Anfield.

Those passionate Reds' supporters were infuriated when they saw their once-idol Trent Alexander-Arnold coming on near the end, only this time in a white Real Madrid shirt.

However, not even 'the traitor' Trent could prevent his new lot from losing this one against the dazzling Reds, with Mo Salah failing in back-to-back attempts to wrap up the tie near the stoppage time.

The football gods were fair enough on this night, though, allowing Liverpool to celebrate their third UCL victory in four games, with their only loss being the one against Galatasaray in Istanbul.

They're now tied with Real Madrid, PSG and Inter in third place, but with the Italians having a game in hand (on Wednesday night at home against Kairat).

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 4

Tuesday

Napoli - Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0

Slavia Prague - Arsenal 0-3 (0-1)

/Saka 32 pen, Merino 46, 68/

Atletico Madrid - St. Gilloise 3-1 (1-0)

/Alvarez 39, Gallagher 72, Llorente 90+6 - Sykes 80/

Bodo/Glimt - Monaco 0-1 (0-1)

/Balogun 43/

Juventus - Sporting Lisbon 1-1 (1-1)

/Vlahovic 34 - Araujo 12/

Liverpool - Real Madrid 1-0 (0-0)

/Mac Allister 61/

Olympiacos - PSV 1-1 (1-0)

/Martins 17 - Pepi 90+3/

PSG - Bayern Munich 1-2 (0-2)

/Neves 74 - Diaz 4, 32/

Tottenham - Copenhagen 4-0 (1-0)

/Johnson 19, Odobert 51, Van de Ven 64, Palhinha 67/

Wednesday

20.45: (7.00) Paphos (4.40) Villareal (1.47)

20.45: (8.00) Qarabag (5.30) Chelsea (1.35)

23.00: (3.20) Ajax (4.00) Galatasaray (2.15)

23.00: (2.05) Benfica (3.70) Leverkusen (3.70)

23.00: (5.50) Club Brugge (5.15) Barcelona (1.53)

23.00: (1.05) Inter (14.0) Kairat Almaty (45.0)

23.00: (1.45) Man.City (5.25) Dortmund (6.75)

23.00: (1.50) Newcastle (4.20) Ath.Bilbao (6.75)

23.00: (2.10) Olympique Marseille (3.75) Atalanta (3.50)

***odds are subject to change***