– We were frustrated after the results and made too many mistakes. Real Madrid punished us at every opportunity, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson told BT Sport.

There is absolutely no revenge from last season’s final defeat for Liverpool. Instead, the Reds were humiliated by the defending champions, eventually losing 5-2 at Anfield.

– It’s hard. It’s hard to stand here and talk right now, Henderson said.

– The humiliation was huge, exclaimed TV 2 commentator Øyvind Alsaker as Real Madrid scored their fifth goal of the night.

– What an unreal goalkeeper’s mistake

The scene of joy was a stark contrast to the previous afternoon. Because the nightmare start was complete for Real Madrid when Thibaut Courtois fumbled and lost the ball straight to Mohamed Salah who could have doubled Liverpool’s lead before the quarter was played.

– It’s unreal that the world’s best goalkeeper manages to mess up the ball in this way, said TV 2 pundit Jesper Mathisen as Liverpool went 2-0 up.

– I was about to hit the ball, but then Salah stopped, and I thought I had time to transfer it to my right foot. Then it bounced off my knee, Courtois himself explained after the game.

But a pitch-black start suddenly brightened up for the visitors in their Champions League round of 16 first leg clash.

First, Vinicius Jr. diminished, before the same man had to exploit a new and huge goalkeeper’s opening on the other side of the pitch. Alisson Becker serves the ball right at the feet of his compatriot.

– What a new, appalling, surreal goalkeeping mistake by such a fantastic goalkeeper, thought Mathisen.

If the drama is there? NO. Real Madrid scored once, twice and three more, turning things around after goals from Éder Militão and Karim Benzema. By then the visitors had scored five goals (!) in 46 minutes.

– This has developed into a disaster for Liverpool, says BBC football pundit Alan Shearer.

– A statue will move more

There was little noise from the away leg at Anfield when the quarters had gone. Just before Salah’s goal, Darwin Núñez had given the home side the lead with a beautiful backheel. With two goals up front, high pressure and some danger, Liverpool seem to have good control at home.

That was before Vinicius Jr. decided to take action.

Twice the Brazilian put the ball in the net and the teams equalized before the break.

– I couldn’t believe what I saw in terms of the number of mistakes made on the pitch. It was a big mistake from Thibaut Courtois before and it was the same from Alisson, striker legend Shearer commented on the BBC.

The Whites continued with free-kick practice, in which Militão put the ball in the net, and after Benzema’s shot, which went past the legs of Liverpool, Real Madrid were 4-2 10 minutes after the break.

– Nice ball from Modric, but the goal was too easy for Liverpool to concede. A statue would move more than a Liverpool defender, says Shearer of Liverpool’s defensive play.

The humiliation was complete when Karim Benzema scored his second goal of the night after a superb solo strike to make it 5-2.

– We play with personality and want to win the Champions League again. They started better than us but it is a big game and we are ready,” star player Karim Benzema told BT sport.

Thus, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have a good starting point ahead of the second leg in Madrid on Wednesday 15 March.

– We have to play like in the first half for 95 minutes. It is possible, but someone needs some more momentum. They gained confidence and scored great goals. That’s how it is. It’s a strange game, but there’s a lot to be gained from this game, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said at his post-match press conference, according to TV 2.