Liverpool £450m masterplan gets lift-off as Real Madrid grateful for UEFA 'ban'

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The Paul Gorst verdict on a night to remember at Anfield as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions LeagueThe cold, soulless facts will say Liverpool are now up to sixth in the group stage of the Champions League after this 1-0 win over Real Madrid. The reality, however, is that another triumph over the 15-time champions of Europe at Anfield might just have finally given lift-off to a new era under Arne Slot.The first two-and-a-half months of this campaign have not gone exactly to the plan.

After a historic summer transfer window where close to £450m was forked out and around half of that was recouped, the glossy brochure that had Slot's Premier League champions as the all-conquering unbeatables has not quite looked like that in reality.It's been tough and even when games have been won, late goals have been needed too often and games have not been controlled in the manner that became so routine last year en route to league title No.20.Six defeats in seven prior to Saturday's much-needed 2-0 win over Aston Villa was indicative of a team struggling to find their groove amid the unusually high volume of turnover in the playing staff.But having taking an encouraging step towards the light at the end of the tunnel against Villa, the Reds took a quantum leap here as los Blancos were dispatched from Merseyside with nothing to show for their efforts for a second Champions League season running.The rule that forbids the same fixture being played three seasons running will be a welcome and much-needed reprieve for Madrid, one suspects. The aspect that will have Liverpool bouncing into Sunday's trip to Manchester City was just how much their performance merited the victory.Xabi Alonso is an Anfield legend for his exploits as a player but he is still a relatively young coach and he was outfoxed on the night by Slot, who got his team selection absolutely spot on.The decision to bring in Florian Wirtz for Cody Gakpo was inspired.

He has been signed with a view to winning the Champions League and the different style of football in this competition plays to his strengths, he was excellent.An absorbing first period of high-grade football came and went in a blink with Liverpool having the lion's share of the chances. Giorgi Mamardashvili was a virtual spectator save for one important stop to keep out Jude Bellingham, who had wriggled free of Ibrahima Konate.The giant Belgian goalkeeper picked up where he left off in the first half, saving from Virgil van Dijk and Hugo Ekitike early in the second but there was nothing the former Chelsea man could do to thwart Mac Allister, who gave Szoboszlai's sumptuous delivery the header it deserved to finally open the scoring shortly after the hour mark.Gakpo could have made the result safe late on but once more Courtois proved to be a barrier and the fact that the 33-year-old goalkeeper was Madrid’s best player on a night when Kylian Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius Junior all started was proof of how well Slot’s men played.Conor Bradley surely enjoyed his best game for the club.