Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Real Madrid as Alexis Mac Allister and 3 more superb

ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Liverpool beat Real Madrid and sent a strong statement thanks to Alexis Mac Allister's second-half header. Two huge games down this week; two wins.

Dominik Szoboszlai went closest in the first half, with the Hungary midfielder seeing a shot saved when he was teed up by Florian Wirtz. Thibaut Courtois in the Real Madrid goal refused to be beaten, though, which he has a tendency of doing when he comes up against the Reds.

Just after the hour mark, with Liverpool pounding on Courtois' goal, he was finally beaten. Szoboszlai swung in a cross and it was the South American who headed home from close range.

Winners

For lots of players in the Liverpool team, this was a much-improved performance and a season best. Florian Wirtz looked more comfortable in this kind of contest, Ibrahima Konate was confident and strong, and Conor Bradley was exceptional. Arne Slot will hope for more of the same in another stellar fixture on Sunday at Manchester City in the Premier League.

Losers

He would have been expecting it, no doubt, but Trent Alexander-Arnold was given a frosty reception, at least from the home fans. Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo were among those to stop for a chat in the warm-up, but there was less hospitality in the stands.

Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave and sign for Real Madrid hasn't been forgotten. It would have been easy to suggest he didn't feature from the off because of the reception he was going to get had he not been injured for a spell.

Every touch here was greeted by a loud booing sound. "Steve Gerrard, Gerrard," The Kop sang; a clear message of the kind of career they expected their former number 66 to have.

Player ratings

Giorgi Mamardashvili (7). Not really called upon until near the end of the first half, the goalkeeper made a couple of decent saves in quick succession.

Conor Bradley (8). It was in this fixture last season that he produced one of the iconic images of Arne Slot's first campaign at the helm, crashing through Kylian Mbappe to win the ball. He was up against Vinicius Jr this time, and did just as well.

Ibrahima Konate (7). Front-footed and proactive, the Frenchman was very strong in the tackle and good on the ball. This was his best showing of the season by some distance.

Virgil van Dijk (7). Unfortunate to give away a couple of fouls, the Liverpool captain was a good performer here. He wasn't called into action against Kylian Mbappe as much as he might have been expecting.

Andy Robertson (6). Deservedly in the team again after impressing on Saturday, the Scotland captain was generally solid at the back. He got away with one bad touch that let Arda Guler in, but then recovered well.

Ryan Gravenberch (7). Sitting deepest in midfield, the Liverpool ace was typically strong in the tackle and good on the ball. Didn't get the chance to drive forward as much as at the weekend.

Alexis Mac Allister (8). The Aston Villa game was by far his best performance of the season to that point, and the Argentine built on that here with an even better showing. These are the matches when he tends to come alive (he scored in this fixture the last time it was played too) and it was he who broke the deadlock.

Dominik Szoboszlai (7). Buzzing around the field with such infectious energy, he pressed really well and was superb off the ball. Should have scored when he was teed up by Wirtz, but Courtois made a very good save. It was his cross that set up the opener.

Mohamed Salah (7). Alvaro Carreras, the Real Madrid left-back, was pretty good at defending against the Egyptian, but he did beat him a couple of times. He was lively, and got through a lot of defensive work.

Hugo Ekitike (8). He seemed to come alive when there was space in behind to run into, but couldn't quite make the most of it. His link-up play was good and he led the press well, drawing fouls when he was under pressure.

Florian Wirtz (8). Playing on the left flank, the German was able to drift inside at times, but he generally stayed wide: sometimes on the left, and sometimes on the right. In a game that was much more about technique than physicality, he thrived. He pressed; he created. This is what Liverpool knew it was getting when it bought the 22-year-old.

Substitutes

Curtis Jones (6). Brought on to keep the ball and see the result out, he made a good contribution. It would be no shock if he played an even bigger role against Manchester City.

Cody Gakpo (6). Given how well Wirtz did on the left, he might face some more competition down that side. Here, he played down the middle and helped close the game out.