Blowout loss to Real Madrid casts a gloom over Liverpool

It was supposed to be a renaissance, the grand debut of the true Liverpool squad of 2023.

With two impressive victories behind them and several important players back from long-term injuries, Liverpool was primed to shake off its difficult season on Tuesday and take revenge over the Real Madrid squad that denied them a trophy last year. 

"Life is about timing, and maybe we have found our feet again," coach Jurgen Klopp told the media before the Champions League match. 

But as the lights dimmed over Anfield 90 minutes later, the lights dimmed on Liverpool's European ambitions, too. Forget the renaissance. Liverpool fell, 5-2, and entered a new Dark Age instead.

The Reds started brightly, with a newly confident Darwin Núñez hassling Thibaut Courtois and Dani Carvajal inside Real Madrid's penalty box. That confidence quickly turned into goals, the first a beautiful backward daisy-cutter from Núñez himself, the second an opportunistic Mo Salah chip following a grievous goalkeeping error. 

Liverpool was up, 2-0, after just 15 minutes, and the relief in the stadium was palpable.

Real Madrid, however, refused to panic. Regular viewers will remember that Madrid turned around sizable deficits against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City on its way to winning last season's Champions League trophy. It didn't take long for it to fight back, with Vinicius Junior scoring twice before halftime to level the score at 2-2.

From there, Liverpool's efforts went from heroic to slapstick. Two Joe Gomez errors gifted Real Madrid a pair of goals, and Karim Benzema walked in another after goalkeeper Alisson Becker mistimed his run and left his goal too early. 

Liverpool looked shaken by all three goals and couldn't turn its performance around to save the fixture. When the whistle blew to end the match, 5-2 appeared to be a blessing. Madrid could have, and probably should have, scored more.

"We gave all five goals away, all five," an enraged Klopp told the media afterward. "The second goal was slapstick... we lost the momentum in that moment and never got it back. The second half was the game Real Madrid wanted to play."

Liverpool must beat Real Madrid by at least three goals in the second leg to remain in contention for the Champions League trophy.

They must salvage its Premier League season in the interim, with crucial fixtures against Crystal Palace, Wolves, Manchester United and Bournemouth coming before another Real Madrid test. 

Liverpool is eighth in the Premier League and sits seven points off the fourth-place spot that would guarantee it entry into next season's Champions League.

If its Dark Age continues, Liverpool will be out of European competition for the next 18 months.