Ultimately it was not about who was back at Anfield but what was back. The Liverpool of Arne Slot’s title‑winning debut season was the answer and, on their second successive November visit, Real Madrid did not have one of their own.
Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring last season in the 2-0 defeat of the Spanish giants – though giant would be a huge exaggeration of their latest display on Merseyside – and settled the reunion of the European heavyweights as Liverpool, all controlled aggression and clear‑eyed intent, ignited their Champions League campaign and potentially their entire season. Another clean sheet and set-piece goal heightened Slot’s satisfaction on a raucous, reaffirming night at Anfield.
