56 min: Real Madrid are all over the place, and here’s another blow for them: Camavinga is down and is going to need replacing. Looks like a hamstring injury. Ancelotti will actually make a double change. Camavinga is off for Lucas Vazquez, who will go to right back with Valverde coming into midfield. Ceballos on for Arda Guler, that’s a tactical change.

54 min: Liverpool nearly immediately double their lead! Jones does brilliantly on the left flank, cuts the ball back to Mac Allister, who takes a touch and fires just wide! Courtois was rooted to the spot, he wasn’t getting there, but Mac Allister missed the target, curling his effort around the advancing Rudiger and just wide of Courtois’s left post.

GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid (Mac Allister 52)

50 min: Real Madrid nearly self-destruct! Liverpool’s press boxes Madrid up against their own byline. Modric just gets the ball away to Rudiger, who dawdles on the ball. It comes loose, and only a tackle from Guler prevents Jones from converting an easy chance!

48 min: Back come Liverpool and from a corner, Jones does considerably better! The new England international plucks the ball out of the sky, beating Mbappé, and pings a goalbound shot towards the corner, only for Camavinga to get a block in. Another corner, from which Courtois claims at the second attempt.

47 min: After some untidy play, the ball breaks kindly to Jones in Madrid’s box but the academy graduate can’t get the ball out of his feet on the penalty spot!

Peeeeeeeeeep! We’re off again.

On Modric, I watched this excellent short film on the Croatian maestro recently. Definitely worth five minutes of your time. I have never seen Modric, usually so reserved, speak to openly and candidly about his war-torn upbringing before.

Half-time reading:

“Clumsy?”, emails Richard McGahey. “Oh maybe when that kid Modric gets some more experience, he will be able to inflict tactical fouls and feign innocence.”

The latest from Villa Park, right here.

Half-time: Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid

45 min: Just one minute added on for added time. Güler, not for the first time, tries his luck from range, his shot heading into the Kop a good 20 yards wide of goal.

43 min: Mbappé has really not got himself into the game, although the Frenchman does win the ball from Bradley. Impressively, that the first mistake from the Northern Irishman.

41 min: Liverpool are, however, rather annoyed that Modric escapes a yellow card for a clumsy challenge on Konaté.

40 min: Mac Allister is booked for cynically tap tackling Arda Guler, who was striding forward into empty space inside Liverpool’s half. No complaints from the World Cup winner.

38 min: Liverpool are really purring now! Diaz and Robertson combine nicely with the latter sending a fierce low cross into Madrid’s box. Rudiger, stationed at the near post, does brilliantly to clear the ball, crucially not into his own net! The German celebrates his intervention like a goal. He’s a real leader.

36 min: Nunez bullies Camavinga to win the ball back and sets Jones free on the counter attack for Liverpool. Jones feeds Salah and gets the ball back on the edge of the area, with the Englishman firing three yards over with a first-time shot.

34 min: Anfield is really rocking now.

32 min: Nunez heads inches wide! It’s all happening now. Mac Allister floats a clever ball that looks like it is just too strong for Nunez, who breaks the offside trap, extends his neck muscles and somehow nods the ball back across goal. His header takes Courtois by surprise and almost in slow motion, the ball trickles across the six-yard box and just wide!

31 min: Conor Bradley, on his first Champions League start for Liverpool, with an absolute crunching slide tackle on Mbappé! Absolutely textbook! Took all of the ball and sent Mbappé flying to earn arguably the biggest cheer of the night.

30 min: Mendy brings down Salah, 15 yards outside the penalty box out wide. Van Dijk and Konaté trot forward from the back and Rudiger can be seen laughing and playfully pushing Van Dijk before the ball comes in. The German is enjoying himself! Courtois does well to punch the ball clear.

28 min: Madrid are slowly creeping into this game. Camavinga and Modric are showing some nice touches in midfield before Bellingham wins a corner off a frustrated Robertson, from which Arda Guler fires a shot high and wide.

26 min: Diaz looks like he fancies this match up against Valverde, who is a supremely accomplished and versatile player but not a natural right back. Salah, meanwhile, has been very quiet on the right.

24 min: For better or worse, Nunez is right amongst it and so nearly toe-pokes Liverpool into the lead! Mendy scrambles a clearance in Madrid’s box, which deflects kindly into Nunez’s path, but Courtois springs off his line to close the angle and prevent the Liverpool striker from prodding the Reds into the lead. Great save from surely the best goalkeeper in the world.

22 min: Nunez, on a yellow card remember, drags back Camavinga in a really dangerous position to the right of centre outside Liverpool’s box. Arda Guler is over the free-kick … but knuckleballs it just over. Kelleher wasn’t too worried.

20 min: Wow! Raúl Asencio, the 21-year-old centre back making his Champions League debut tonight, shows a great change of pace to catch and shove Nunez out the way. Looks like a bit of a player, this kid.

18 min: Nunez ignores an easy pass back to Robertson and Cruyff-turns Bellingham. The home crowd enjoyed that one.

16 min: Another booking! Gravenberch goes into the book for dissent, as the Dutchman questions the referee after Van Dijk shoulder barges Mbappé to the ground.

14 min: Bellingham responds by putting himself about in central midfield, winning a free kick and a corner in quick succession. Those late runs into the box can be so dangerous if he is not tracked by one of Gravenberch, Mac Allister or Jones.

12 min: The corner is cleared. Liverpool fans are booing Bellingham. Hmmm.

11 min: Madrid are doubling up on Salah, who wins a corner. As the ball dribbles out, Nunez and Raúl Asencio clash off the ball, with both having a bit of handbags in the penalty box. Nunez goes down dramatically (and a little embarrassingly), replays show there wasn’t much in it. However, both Nunez and Raúl Asencio are booked for their troubles. Silly.

8 min: This has been a poor start from Madrid, who have not yet had a sustained period of possession.

6 min: Sloppy ball from Van Dijk gifts possession to Arda Güler in an advanced position. The Turkish player drives at Robertson, who expertly nicks and shields the ball to stifle the danger. Good defending from the Scot, but an alarming pass from Van Dijk.

Off the line!

2 min: Nervy opening touches from both sides. Up front for Madrid, Mbappé is indeed playing on the left, Brahim Diaz in the middle (what a gut punch that is for Endrick) and Arda Guler on the right.

Peeeeeeeeep! We’re underway at Anfied.

You’ll Never Walk Alone rings around Anfield. Carlo Ancelotti strides out to the dugout, his eyebrow cocked. Andy Robertson picks his nose in the tunnel. This is football heritage.

Arne Slot speaks!

Salah has been in the media his whole career. He’s used to this. If he doesn’t play a good game tonight, which I don’t expect, it’s because of Real Madrid, not the things he has said.

If you are catching up on Salah’s contract situation and his outspoken comments, this is worth a read from Andy Hunter.

A euro for the thoughts of Endrick, who played just four minutes at the weekend despite Madrid’s injury problems. The teenage superstar has started just one game since September, a 1-0 defeat to Lille. The Brazilian is on the bench tonight.

Should flag that Bellingham has some heavy strapping on his left knee. Madrid could really do without another injury.

The players are out on the pitch, warming up.

Given the history of Liverpool and Real Madrid and their form in recent years, is this the biggest game in European club football?

This is not the only game tonight, of course. Join John Brewin for the tantalising encounter that is Villa v Juventus.

Gareth Bale is a pundit tonight for TNT. Presenter Laura Woods points out that the Welshman’s record at Anfield is not the best:

“I won when it mattered”, replies Bale.

Two changes for Slot since Liverpool’s win over Southampton. Diaz comes in for Gakpo and Mac Allister replaces Szoboszlai. Trent Alexander-Arnold is back on the bench after recovering from his injury troubles. Conor Bradley is tasked with marking Kylian Mbappé.

What a huge game for Raúl Asencio at centre back for Real Madrid. The 21-year-old makes just his third senior appearance and his first game in the Champions League. There are two changes from the side that beat Leganés: Diaz comes in for the injured Vini Jr, and the evergreen Modric replaces Ceballos.

The teams!

Liverpool enquired into signing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund in 2023, before deciding they could not afford the overall package to sign him. Bellingham has been talking this week about that interest, and his eventual decision to join Madrid.

[Signing for Liverpool] probably wasn’t as close as a lot of the media made out. I had conversations with a few clubs when leaving Borussia Dortmund and making that decision. They gave me permission to speak to a few clubs. All the clubs I spoke to were very respectful of me and my family which was something I really respected. But when Real Madrid come knocking on the door it shakes the whole house. It’s hard not to accept. It’s not a matter the other teams weren’t good or were bad when I spoke to them, it’s just that Real Madrid are on a different level.

Guess who’s back. Back again.

With Vini Jr injured at Leganés, Mbappé switched to his preferred position on the left and the Frenchman will almost certainly occupy the same position this evening. Here’s Sid Lowe to explain a little more.

“If ever a game needed a moniker Clash of the Titans, this would be it,” emails krishnamoorthy. “Real have not been winning of late, it is difficult even to type this statement, which is absurd. The losing streak had to end and what better platform to perform than in the tournament that they own. But then we thought the same about City last night. Real is no City and Liverpool is certainly no Feynoord. I expect a 2-2 draw”.

I also think a score draw is a decent shout, although Madrid’s form and absentees mean Liverpool are favourites tonight.

It’s also worth noting that after the heavy back-to-back defeats against Barcelona and Milan, Madrid have significantly improved of late after Carlo Ancelotti made some changes. Following the 3-1 home defeat to Milan, the Italian announced “We have evaluated the situation with the players. We think we have found the solution. But we need to put that into practice. That is what we are hoping to do, to play differently.”

Since then, Madrid have won 4-0 and 3-0 in La Liga, against Osasuna and Leganés. Liverpool those teams are not, but the results are certainly encouraging.

Here, from the archives just before the 2022 Champions League final (won 1-0 by Madrid), is a more detailed history of the meeting of these two teams.

The last time Madrid travelled to Anfield was in February last year, when Madrid trounced Liverpool 5-2 in the round of 16, despite going 2-0 down. The injured Vini Jr and Karim Benzema, now departed to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia of course, ran the show that night.

Preamble