Liverpool suffered a major football scandal and left Anfield defeated 1-0 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League. At a time when Mohamed Salah's Egyptian star and his teammates were poised to achieve a historic win with more than 5 goals, it was the out-of-this-world performance of Real Madrid's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtoa, the undisputed man of the match, that prevented it. With this result, Liverpool's points tally increased to 9, the same as that of Real Madrid. First Half... Courtoa Against Everyone. The match was intense from the start, with the first half starring the 'Royal Team's' goalkeeper Courtoa, who stood tall against a red storm of attacks to deny the home side 4 certain goals. Statistically... Liverpool was more aggressive and daring, firing 9 shots at Madrid's goal, 4 of which were on target. But the 'octopus' Courtoa stole the show, seemingly possessing dozens of arms to parry the extraordinary shots from Dominik Szoboszlai. In contrast, Real Madrid relied on a solid defense led by Tchouaméni, Carvajal, and Militão, with a solitary attempt signed by Jude Bellingham. Real Madrid had only 5 shots in total, 2 on target, reminding everyone that Real Madrid only needs a moment to hit Liverpool's net. Second Half... 'Liverpool Goes Mad'. Courtoa continued to torment Liverpool's attackers and their fans by saving his team's goal from 3 more goals in 10 minutes, saves that will go down in history. With every save, he gave his teammates broad smiles, proud of what he was delivering while at the peak of his form. But the great keeper's joy was incomplete when his net finally gave in to Liverpool's clear on-field dominance. A free-kick taken by Szoboszlai found the head of Mac Allister and found its way into the net (60). Real Madrid tried to salvage the situation and waited until the 75th minute to threaten Liverpool's goal. A pass from Vinicius Junior to Kylian Mbappé ended in a shot that was brilliantly saved by Georgian goalkeeper Mamardashvili. Amid boos from Liverpool's fans, Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso brought on left-back Alexander-Arnold for his first match against his former club. And Egyptian Mohamed Salah almost fired the final nail in Real Madrid's coffin, were it not for Courtoa's brilliant save in the final moments, ending the match with a deserved victory for the historic English club.
