How Arne Slot aced the biggest night of his career thanks to a 'perfect' performance from Liverpool's rising star

Liverpool overcame their hoodoo against Real Madrid to topple the 15-time champions of Europe with a convincing win last night.

Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in the second half before Caoimhin Kelleher made a heroic save to deny Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot.

Substitute Cody Gakpo added a second as Anfield erupted to salute their heroes returning to the top of the Champions League table ahead of their crunch meeting with Manchester City on Sunday.

Mail Sport’s LEWIS STEELE was there and discusses some of the big talking points…

The Slot penitentiary

Carlo Ancelotti, welcome to the Arne Slot penitentiary. So goes the joke on social media, the Liverpool boss is sentencing fellow managers to his own ‘penitentiary’ as, one by one, he picks off the cream of the crop in European coaching.

Xabi Alonso, Enzo Maresca, Erik ten Hag and Unai Emery have fallen to defeats against Slot so far in his Anfield reign. But this was the biggest scalp of the lot.

The Dutchman has led the Reds to 17 wins in his first 19 matches as Liverpool boss since his arrival in the summer

Liverpool claimed their first win over Real Madrid in 15 years in front of a raucous Anfield crowd on Wednesday night

The seven-time European Cup winner Ancelotti — counting his playing career too — was not just beaten but thoroughly outplayed by Slot’s men who were better in all departments.

Some fans are never happy and one in this reporter’s X mentions was complaining about Slot’s game management as he did not rest Ibrahima Konate, who took a knock at the end of the game.

He clearly was not watching Manchester City on Tuesday night as the Etihad club imploded after three substitutions. Easy for fans to grumble in hindsight but, at only 2-0 against Real Madrid, nothing is ever done.

This was a special night for Slot, though. Not just on the pitch but up in the stands as his family travelled over from Holland to watch a historic win for their husband and dad.

On paper, managing Liverpool against Real Madrid was probably the biggest night of his career, especially noting the journey he has been on in a coaching career that started with NAC Breda’s youth teams.

But realistically, Sunday’s clash is bigger. If they beat Manchester City, Liverpool will be a staggering 11 points clear of the champions. That is nothing short of exceptional for what was meant to be a transition season after Jurgen Klopp.

Will the next inmate at the Arne Slot penitentiary be Pep Guardiola?

Don’t forget Fleetwood, Conor

Two years ago this week, Conor Bradley was playing at Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium for Bolton, while on loan at the League One club.

Imagine telling him then that he would be playing in a Champions League match for Liverpool against the great Real Madrid two years later.

It has been some rise for the Northern Irishman but he is certainly not here to make up the numbers and was undoubtedly man of the match here.

To say he bullied Kylian Mbappe would be a grand understatement, as Bradley put in a perfect defensive display to ensure the Frenchman could not impact the game in an attacking sense.

Going forward, Bradley was exceptional and made Mail Sport think back to a piece we did on him last year talking to his old youth coaches, one of whom said ‘he runs like a gazelle, he can pass like Steven Gerrard’.

It was not quite Stevie G with his assist but he picked the right option to tee up Alexis Mac Allister’s for Liverpool’s opener here. Perfect at the back, a handful at the other end – this was an imperious all-round performance by Bradley.

Also worth noting is the fact that Real Madrid are courting Trent Alexander-Arnold, the No 1 right back in these parts. If – and this is a big ‘if’, Liverpool fans – Alexander-Arnold goes to Spain, the bloke who plays his deputy is not bad at all.

Conor Bradley produced a stunning performance against the European champions on his first start in the Champions League

The 21-year-old played a huge part in ensuring Kylian Mbappe had a miserable night at Anfield

What’s up with Mbappe?

First the problem was Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior wanted to play the same position – now it is that the French Galactico cannot score whatever spot he starts in.

With Vinicius out, the onus is on Mbappe to lead the line for Carlo Ancelotti’s team – but he is not doing a great job at the moment and, perhaps for the first time in his career, is suffering a crisis of confidence.

What happened to the swagger, the positive arrogance and the style that made Mbappe look like he was a world-best player in the making several years ago? And are Real Madrid worse with Mbappe?

It is a question that, with time, will look daft. But it is certainly a problem for Ancelotti, whose side trail Barcelona in La Liga and are a staggering 24th in the Champions League new-look group phase.

Considering Real are football royalty – quite literally – with 15 European Cups, that is not good enough. And it would not be a surprise if this was Ancelotti’s last season at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, with Xabi Alonso often touted as his potential successor.

On Mbappe, he said: ‘This has happened before in my career many times with forwards. When you are a striker, you want to score and get a bit of confidence.

‘There is a medicine which is a difficult moment for him, I think Mbappe it is a difficult moment. We have to support him and give him our love, he will soon be fine.’

Mbappe was a shadow of himself against the Reds as his struggles since moving to Madrid continued

Carlo, Jude and Co have Liverpool love-in

If watching the game was not enough to convince you of Liverpool’s talents, just read the words of manager Ancelotti, La Liga player of the season – last year at least – Jude Bellingham and former Champions League winner Rio Ferdinand.

‘I think that to be totally honest it is a fair result, Liverpool deserved to win, they have a real good dynamic and they are in great form, connected playing with a high intensity,’ said Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League five times as a boss and two more as a player. 

Bellingham added: ‘They were just more up for it than us which is really disappointing to say. It’s a bad result against the best-performing team in Europe. It’s no disgrace to come here and lose but we are disappointed in how we performed.’

And Ferdinand said: ‘They’ve put the gauntlet down to all the other teams in Europe. They look like the best team in Europe at the moment.

‘They’re playing as a team and look the hungriest individuals about. They’re not only getting results, they look starving. They look like they haven’t been fed for ages, Rottweilers running round the pitch hunting teams down. They’ve got the composure.’

Jude Bellingham admitted that Liverpool were ‘just more up for it’ than the defending champions 

Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, who scored a memorable brace against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, was in attendance at Anfield on Wednesday night

European royalty in town

Bradley was the star of the show on the pitch but a certain Gareth Bale was in town and must have struggled to go 10 seconds without being pestered for a selfie – even by Liverpool fans outside the ground.

He must have been forgiven for that overhead kick in the 2018 Champions League final, then.

Looking suave as ever, Bale strolled down the Anfield touchline ahead of his TNT Sports duties and was mobbed by fans, media and even former players for pictures. Who can blame them, really?

No such niceties from Bellingham, though, who stared straight ahead of him and did not make eye contact with a pack of around 25 Spanish reporters trying to get a word with him in the mixed zone after the game.

His little brother Jobe was in attendance but watched on as Jude failed to take control of this game with very few moments of note.

Meanwhile, another familiar face was in town. Alvaro Arbeloa, once of this parish, was at the AXA Training Centre earlier in the day. The former Liverpool right back now manages Real Madrid Under 19s, who beat the Reds 1-0 in the UEFA Youth League in an enjoyable game.