Real Madrid vs Liverpool facts

A rousing first-leg comeback at Liverpool has put Real Madrid firmly in control of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie and on the verge of ending the English club's interest in the competition for the third season running.

Beaten by Madrid in last season's final, Liverpool roared out of the blocks at Anfield, early goals from Darwin Núñez (4) and Mohamed Salah (14) giving them the initiative. Madrid were level before the break, however, thanks to a double from Vinícius Júnior (21, 36) – the Brazilian scoring in this fixture for the third season in a row – before second-half strikes from Éder Militão (47) and Karim Benzema (55, 67) inflicted Liverpool's first ever home first-leg defeat against non-English opposition in UEFA competition.

That was the first time Liverpool had conceded four or more goals at Anfield in Europe, and just the second time they had let in five in a European game – the other a 5-1 loss to Ajax in December 1966.

Before losing the first leg Liverpool had won five successive matches in the competition, since a heavy opening defeat at Napoli that meant they had to settle for second place in Group A behind their Italian opponents. Madrid, meanwhile, finished a point ahead of Leipzig in Group F, also suffering one defeat but winning four of their six fixtures.

Madrid have won the last two contests against their English opponents, in the 2020/21 quarter-finals and in last season's final, although the Reds have also enjoyed their share of success against the Spanish side in the past.

Both clubs are looking to reach the quarter-finals for the third season in a row; neither has lost in the last 16 since 2019/20, and each boasts a strong record at this stage of the UEFA Champions League.

This is Real Madrid's 300th match in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final. They are the first club to reach that landmark.

Previous meetings

Vinícius Júnior scored the only goal in the 59th minute at the Stade de France on 28 May, giving Madrid their 14th European Cup – and their second at the expense of Liverpool.

The second of the teams' three finals came at Kyiv's NSC Olimpiyski on 26 May 2018, Zinédine Zidane's Madrid becoming the first club to win three successive European Cups twice with a 3-1 victory against a Liverpool side managed, as now, by Jürgen Klopp. Benzema's 51st-minute opener was cancelled out within four minutes by Sadio Mané, but two goals from substitute Gareth Bale (64, 83) – including a stunning overhead effort – took the trophy to Madrid again.

Bob Paisley's Liverpool beat Madrid, coached by Vujadin Boškov, 1-0 in the 1981 European Cup final at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Alan Kennedy scoring the only goal nine minutes from time.

The clubs also crossed paths in the 2020/21 quarter-finals, Madrid winning 3-1 in the home first leg and progressing by the same aggregate score after a goalless draw at Anfield. Vinícius Júnior scored twice at the Santiago Bernabéu (27, 65) either side of Marco Asensio's 36th-minute strike; Mohamed Salah's 51st-minute reply was all Liverpool could muster.

The teams were paired in the 2014/15 group stage, Madrid winning both games with Benzema scoring twice in the first, a 3-0 away win. The Frenchman also got the only goal as Madrid won 1-0 in Spain two weeks later.

Liverpool beat Madrid 5-0 on aggregate in the 2008/09 round of 16. Rafael Benítez's Reds won the first leg 1-0 in Spain before completing a comfortable aggregate victory with a 4-0 success back on Merseyside – still Madrid's biggest UEFA Champions League defeat.

Madrid now have six wins to Liverpool's three in the sides' ten meetings, all in the European Cup. Madrid have scored 16 goals, six more than their English opponents.

Form guide

Real Madrid

This is Madrid's 27th UEFA Champions League campaign, a record they share with Barcelona – and an unrivalled 26th in a row. All 27 have now extended into the knockout rounds.

Madrid claimed their 14th European Cup in 2021/22. Carlo Ancelotti's side had finished first in Group D on 15 points, winning five of their six games, before dramatic knockout wins against Paris Saint-Germain (0-1 a, 3-1 h), holders Chelsea (3-1 a, 2-3 h aet) and Manchester City (3-4 a, 3-1 h aet) ahead of their final defeat of Liverpool.

That made Ancelotti the first coach to win four European Cups; he had been level with Paisley and Zidane on three. The Italian is also the only coach to have taken a team to five finals.

Benzema, Dani Carvajal and Luka Modrić all equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of appearing in five UEFA Champions League final victories.

Benzema was top scorer in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League on 15 goals; ten came in the knockout rounds, equalling Ronaldo's record in 2016/17, also for Madrid.

Madrid were also Spanish champions in 2021/22, their 35th Liga title overall and a second in three years. It was only the fourth time they had won the league and the European Cup in the same season, after 1956/57, 1957/58 and 2016/17.

Ancelotti's side have already claimed European silverware this season, goals from David Alaba and Benzema earning a 2-0 victory against UEFA Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup in Helsinki on 10 August. It was Madrid's fifth Super Cup victory, equalling the competition record of AC Milan and Barcelona.

The holders won their first three games in this season's UEFA Champions League, at Celtic (3-0) and at home to Leipzig (2-0) and Shakhtar Donetsk (2-1), but took only one point from their next two before finishing with a 5-1 home victory against the Scottish champions.

The first leg of this tie was the first time Real Madrid had scored five goals in successive UEFA Champions League matches since 1998/99, when they beat Sturm Graz 6-1 and 5-1 in back-to-back group fixtures.

The Spanish side have won 12 of their last 21 home European games (D3 L6) although they have been victorious in 11 of the most recent 14 (D1 L2).

Having reached the semi-finals or better for eight successive seasons between 2010/11 and 2017/18, Madrid lost in the last 16 against Ajax in 2018/19 and Manchester City the following season but have won the last two ties, making their overall record at this stage W11 L8.

Benzema has 18 goals in 24 UEFA Champions League games against English clubs, his largest tally against opposition from a single nation, including seven last season to overtake his 15 goals against German sides. His goals in the first leg of this tie were his first of this season's competition. The Frenchman has scored 12 goals in his last seven knockout phase matches, finding the net in every game bar last season's final.

Benzema has now scored six goals against Liverpool in the European Cup – more than any other player.

Benzema has equalled Lionel Messi's record of having scored in 18 consecutive seasons in the UEFA Champions League and is the first player to score in 19 successive calendar years in the UEFA Champions League (2005–2023).

Madrid's record against English clubs is now W21 D13 L16.

Madrid's record in two-legged knockout ties against English clubs is W11 L6. Last season's wins against Chelsea and Manchester City made it six aggregate victories in the last eight, although their last two UEFA Champions League campaigns before last season were both ended by Premier League opponents – Chelsea in the 2020/21 semi-finals and City in the 2019/20 round of 16.

Including the 2021/22 final, this is the sixth time Madrid have been paired with English opposition in their last seven UEFA Champions League knockout ties.

The second-leg loss to Chelsea in last season's quarter-finals is one of only four Madrid have suffered at home to English clubs; their record otherwise is W10 D7, although the second-leg win against Manchester City was only their second in their last six games against English visitors in Madrid (D2 L2).

Madrid have won 35 of the 37 ties in which they recorded an away first-leg win in UEFA competition, most recently against Chelsea last season having also beaten Atalanta in the 2020/21 round of 16 (1-0 a, 3-1 h). They had lost on the previous occasion, however, against Ajax in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (2-1 a, 1-4 h), their first aggregate defeat when winning the away first leg since losing to OB Odense in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup third round (3-2 a, 0-2 h).

This is only the second time Madrid have won 5-2 in the away first leg, having beaten Danish side B1909 Odense in the 1964/65 European Cup preliminary round (4-0 h).

Madrid's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
5-6 v Crvena zvezda, 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
3-1 v Juventus, 1986/87 European Cup second round
1-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-3 v Atlético de Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final

Liverpool

Liverpool reached their tenth European Cup final in 2021/22, and their third in five seasons. They missed out on their seventh title, however, suffering their fourth final defeat and second at the hands of Madrid.

Klopp's side had finished first in Group B, winning all six games to become the first English club to go through a UEFA Champions League group campaign with maximum points. They stretched that run of victories to seven at Inter in the round of 16 first leg (2-0) and progressed despite a 1-0 home defeat, subsequently ousting Benfica (3-1 a, 3-3 h) and Villarreal (2-0 h, 3-2 a) on their way to the Saint-Denis final.

This is Liverpool's 15th UEFA Champions League campaign; they have reached the final five times, lifting the trophy in 2005 and 2019.

Liverpool went down 4-1 at Napoli on Matchday 1 this season but scored 16 goals in winning their next five fixtures, including a 7-1 success at Rangers and a 2-0 home win in the reverse fixture against Napoli on Matchday 6, although that was not enough for them to overtake the Italian side after each finished with 15 points.

The Merseyside club had finished first in their section for three seasons in a row before coming second to Napoli this time round.

Salah is now the top scorer in this season's UEFA Champions League with eight goals, one more than Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappé with Vinícius Júnior on six. The Egyptian has scored in all of Liverpool's last six matches in the competition.

Second to Manchester City in the 2021/22 Premier League, one point behind, the Reds beat Chelsea on penalties in the finals of both the FA Cup and English League Cup, both of which finished goalless.

A 3-0 win at Ajax on Matchday 5 this season made it 13 victories in Liverpool's last 17 away UEFA Champions League matches (D1 L3). They have won eight of the last nine, the exception that Matchday 1 defeat in Naples.

The Merseyside club are in the round of 16 for the sixth season in a row and the 11th overall; their record is W8 L2. Both defeats have come as holders: against Benfica in 2005/06 (0-1 a, 0-2 h) and Atlético de Madrid in 2019/20 (0-1 a, 2-3 h aet).

Liverpool's last three UEFA Champions League campaigns, and four of the last five, have ended in defeat against clubs from Madrid, their losses to Real Madrid in 2017/18, 2020/21 and 2021/22 and their elimination by Atlético in 2019/20.

No non-Spanish team has eliminated Liverpool from a European competition since they lost on penalties to Beşiktaş in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32.

Last season's wins against Atlético in the group stage (3-2 a, 2-0 h) and Villarreal in the semi-finals have made it six victories in Liverpool's last 20 fixtures against Spanish clubs (D3 L11) – a sequence that also includes a 3-1 loss to Sevilla under Klopp in the 2016 UEFA Europa League final.

The defeat against Atlético in the 2019/20 round of 16 ended Liverpool's perfect record against Spanish clubs in two-legged European Cup knockout ties; they had won all the previous four, but were then beaten in the next as well, by Real Madrid in 2020/21. Their overall record in two-legged knockout ties with Liga sides in UEFA club competition is now W10 L4.

The Matchday 3 success at Atlético last season ended Liverpol's seven-game run without a win away to Spanish sides (D1 L6), since a 1-0 victory at Real Madrid in 2009, the subsequent second-leg victory at Villarreal making their overall away record in Spain W9 D5 L8. Furthermore, they defeated Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final in Madrid.

This is only the second time Liverpool have lost a home first leg in UEFA competition, the other coming against Chelsea in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (1-3 h, 4-4 a). The Reds did also lose 1-0 at home to Leeds in the 1970/71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-final first leg (0-0 a).

Liverpool's record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W4 L1:
4-2 v Roma, 1983/84 European Cup final
3-2 v AC Milan, 2004/05 UEFA Champions League final
4-1 v Chelsea, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final
4-5 v Beşiktaş, 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32
5-4 v Chelsea, 2019 UEFA Super Cup

Links and trivia

Ancelotti has now faced Liverpool 17 times (W10 D4 L3) as a manager, including in two UEFA Champions League finals during his time in charge of AC Milan. His side lost the 2005 final in İstanbul on penalties having led 3-0 at half-time but beat the Reds 2-1 in Athens two years later. Ancelotti's Napoli side were also paired with Klopp's Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2018/19 and 2019/20 (W2 D1 L1).

Ancelotti was Chelsea manager between 2009 and 2011, winning the 2009/10 Premier League and FA Cup double. The Italian was also in charge of Liverpool's local rivals Everton between 2019 and 2021, his four games against Liverpool as Toffees manager ending with the record W1 D2 L1; the sole victory, a 2-0 success on 20 February 2021, was Everton's first Premier League win at Anfield since 1999.

Ancelotti has faced Klopp 11 times as a coach (W6 D3 L2) and is unbeaten in the last seven (W4 D3). His Madrid side ousted Klopp's Borussia Dortmund in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on their way to lifting the trophy (3-0 h, 0-2 a).

Klopp oversaw four games against Madrid as Dortmund coach in 2012/13. After a 2-1 win in Germany and 2-2 draw in Spain in the group stage, the teams met again in the semi-finals, Dortmund going through despite a 2-0 away second-leg defeat having won 4-1 at home, Robert Lewandowski scoring all four of Dortmund's goals. Benzema was on target for Madrid in the second leg.

Fabinho was on loan at Madrid in 2012/13, making one appearance for the senior side in what proved his only season at the club before joining Monaco.

Have also played in Spain:
Adrián (Real Betis 1998–2013, Alcalá 2008 loan, Utrera 2009 loan)
Thiago Alcántara (Barcelona 2005–13)

Diogo Jota joined Atlético from Paços de Ferreira in 2016 but never made a first-team appearance before signing for Wolves in 2019 after loan spells with Porto and the English club.

Have played in England:
Luka Modrić (Tottenham 2008–12)
Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea 2014–18)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea 2012–19)
Dani Ceballos (Arsenal 2019–21 loan)

Modrić faced Liverpool eight times with Tottenham (W5 D1 L2) and scored once, a penalty in a 2-0 victory at Anfield in May 2011.

Hazard has faced Liverpool 18 times, scoring LOSC Lille's goal in a 1-0 home win in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg, a tie the English club won 3-1 on aggregate. He scored six goals against Liverpool in 16 meetings while at Chelsea (W5 D8 L3).

Have played together:
Toni Kroos & Thiago Alcántara (Bayern München 2013/14)
David Alaba & Thiago Alcántara (Bayern 2013–20)
Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard & Mohamed Salah (Chelsea 2014)

Thiago and Alaba were both part of Bayern's UEFA Champions League-winning side in 2019/20 having played together under Ancelotti in 2016/17.

International team-mates:
Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Éder Militão & Alisson, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino (Brazil)
Dani Carvajal, Marco Asensio, Lucas Vázquez, Dani Ceballos, Nacho & Thiago Alcántara (Spain)
Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga & Ibrahima Konaté (France)
Federico Valverde & Darwin Núñez (Uruguay)

Modrić converted his shoot-out spot kick past Alisson as Croatia eliminated Brazil from the 2022 FIFA World Cup on penalties in the quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw.

Latest news

Real Madrid

UEFA Champions League squad changes

In: Marvel*, Rafel Obrador*, Nicolás Paz*
Out: None
*B list

The first leg was Madrid's fifth successive victory in all competitions although the Spanish side failed to win any of their next three games.

Madrid were held 1-1 at home by local rivals Atlético de Madrid on 25 February before a 0-0 draw at Real Betis on 5 March.

Carlo Ancelotti's side also went down 1-0 at home to Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final on 2 March. The return is on 5 April.

Madrid failed to score in two successive matches, as many as in the previous 39.

The loss to Barcelona was the first home game in which Madrid failed to register a shot on target in all competitions since 2010.

The Merengues got back to winning ways on Saturday, coming from behind to beat Espanyol 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu. Vinícius Júnior equalised to end a run of four Liga matches without a goal, before Eder Militão made it 2-1. It was the defender's fourth league goal of 2022/23, making it the most prolific campaign of his career. Substitute Marco Asensio clinched the points with his fourth goal in five league games.

All four of Militão's league goals this season have been headers; no player has headed more Liga goals in 2022/23. Indeed, all six of the defender's league goals for Madrid have been headers.

Madrid have earned ten points from losing positions in the Liga this season, fewer only than Girona (12).

Madrid recorded their biggest Liga win of the season on 15 February with a 4-0 home success against Elche. Karim Benzema scored twice, both penalties, to make it 230 Liga goals for Madrid, taking him into outright second place in the club's all-time list, above Raúl González (228 goals) and behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (311).

Benzema's 230 goals also took him into fifth place in the Spanish Liga's all-time scoring charts, behind Lionel Messi (474 goals), Cristiano Ronaldo (311), Telmo Zarra (252) and Hugo Sánchez (234).

Federico Valverde has 12 goals in all competitions this season, the second highest total for a Madrid midfielder in the last decade behind James Rodríguez's 2014/15 total of 17.

Madrid claimed the FIFA Club World Cup for a record-extending fifth time with a 5-3 victory against Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia on 11 February; they had beaten Egypt's Al Ahly 4-1 in the semi-finals three days earlier.

Vinícius Júnior and Valverde both scored once in the semi-final and twice in the final; 21-year-old Sergio Arribas got his first senior Madrid goal in the semi-final, just 28 seconds after coming on.

Madrid beat Valencia 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final on 11 January, losing the final 3-1 to Barcelona four days later. Benzema scored in each game.

Lucas Vázquez returned as a late substitute against Atlético on 25 February, his first appearance since coming off injured in the Super Cup against Valencia with an ankle injury.

Benzema missed the weekend win against Espanyol with an ankle injury.

Ferland Mendy has been sidelined since damaging a hamstring against Atlético in the Copa del Rey on 26 January.

David Alaba has been out since being replaced in the first leg at Liverpool with a hamstring injury.

Álvaro Odriozola missed the draw with Betis due to a muscle problem but was an unused substitute on Saturday.

Eden Hazard has not played since the start of January due to tendinitis although he was also on the bench on Saturday.

Aurélien Tchouameni was the only player to start all seven games for France as they reached the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, scoring in the quarter-final win against England; he missed Les Bleus' third kick in the shoot-out defeat by Argentina in the final. Eduardo Camavinga played twice in Qatar.

Luka Modrić started all seven games as Croatia finished third at the World Cup.

Liverpool

UEFA Champions League squad changes

In: Stefan Bajcetic*, Cody Gakpo, Kaide Gordon*, Naby Keïta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rhys Williams*
Out: Luke Chambers, Arthur, Calvin Ramsey
*B list

Gakpo, who joined from PSV Eindhoven, was Liverpool's only January signing.

Liverpool's five-match unbeaten run in the Premier League (W4 D1) was ended by a 1-0 loss at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Mohamed Salah missed a penalty in the second half; it was his 21st Premier League spot kick for Liverpool and the first one to completely miss the target.

The Reds had drawn 0-0 at Crystal Palace on 25 February before home wins against Wolverhampton Wanderers (2-0) and Manchester United (7-0).

The latter result – in which Gakpo, Darwin Núñez and Salah all scored twice – was Liverpool's biggest ever against United. Those seven goals are as many as they have managed in their nine other Premier League games in 2023.

Salah's double took his Premier League tally for Liverpool to 129 goals, breaking Robbie Fowler's club record.

Jürgen Klopp's side had lost three of their previous four Premier League matches (D1) before the five-match unbeaten run that was ended on Saturday.

The Reds have won only six of their 19 away matches in all competitions this season, losing ten.

Núñez has four goals in his last five games while Salah has managed five in seven.

Liverpool have already lost eight Premier League games in 2022/23, six more than in the whole of last season.

Klopp's side have 42 points after 26 league matches; they had 60 at the same stage of last season.

A 2-0 home win against Everton on 13 February was Klopp's 250th victory as Liverpool manager, in his 414th game in charge. He is the quickest to reach the milestone for the club, ahead of Bob Paisley (448 matches), Bill Shankly (472) and Tom Watson (539).

Winners of both English domestic cup competitions in 2021/22, Liverpool were knocked out of the last 16 of the League Cup at Manchester City on 22 December (2-3) and the last 32 of the FA Cup at Brighton on 29 January (1-2).

Ibrahima Konaté returned to play 90 minutes against Wolves on 1 March having been out since 29 January with a muscle problem.

Joe Gomez has been out since the first leg with a muscle injury while Naby Keïta has not played since being withdrawn at half-time at Palace with a similar problem.

Thiago Alcántara went off late on in a 3-0 defeat at Wolves on 4 February with a hip problem and has not played since.

Luis Díaz has been out since suffering a knee problem that forced his first-half substitution in a 3-2 Premier League defeat at Arsenal on 9 October.

Arthur has been sidelined since suffering a thigh injury in training in early October.

Konaté made four appearances, three of them starts, as France finished runners-up at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Gakpo started all five matches for quarter-finalists the Netherlands, scoring three goals – one in each group game.

Roberto Firmino, who joined Liverpool in 2015, has announced he will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.