Reaction says it all after stunning own goal; controversy as famous last-gasp win denied: CL Wrap

TWO STUNNING PENALTY SAVES AS LIVERPOOL TAKE DOWN REAL MADRID

Kylian Mbappe saw a penalty saved as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0 to inflict a third Champions League defeat in five matches on the holders.

Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored the goals in the second half as the Reds maintained their perfect record to return to the top of the table.

Mohamed Salah also fired wide from the spot, but it mattered little as Liverpool secured a 17th win in Arne Slot’s first 19 games in charge.

Slot has already achieved what Jurgen Klopp could not as Liverpool boss by slaying the Spanish giants.

Liverpool had a score to settle with Madrid, who were unbeaten in eight previous meetings between the sides, including Champions League finals against Klopp’s men in 2018 and 2022.

Defeat sends Carlo Ancelotti’s side tumbling down to 24th in the table. Only the top 24 progress to the knockout stage with the top eight advancing directly to the last 16.

Liverpool are well on course to do just that and the confidence coursing through a side also eight points clear at the top of the Premier League was in evidence throughout in front of a highly-charged Anfield crowd.

Madrid were hamstrung by a lengthy injury list and made the trip to England without Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba.

Young centre-back Raul Asencio has been pressed into action by those absences and he made a vital goal-line clearance on four minutes.

Darwin Nunez was sent in behind the Madrid defence by Salah and after his shot produced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, Asencio reacted smartly to prevent the rebound bouncing off him and into his own net.

Courtois was Liverpool’s scourge with a man-of-the-match performance in the final two years ago as Madrid prevailed 1-0 in Paris.

The Belgian was at his best again as he blocked another big Nunez chance from point-blank range as the Liverpool pressure built without reward before the break.

Courtois was in sparkling form again at the start of the second period to parry Conor Bradley’s downward header.

But Liverpool were not to be denied as Bradley was this time the provider for Mac Allister, who manufactured the space for a shot into the far corner on 52 minutes.

The visitors were relying on Mbappe for a moment of magic in the absence of Vinicius, but the Frenchman was well-marshalled by his international team-mate Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

His chance to silence his critics arrived on the hour mark when Andy Robertson was harshly adjudged to have tripped Lucas Vazquez inside the area.

Caoimhin Kelleher has excelled in the absence of the injured Alisson Becker and leapt to his left to save Mbappe’s spot-kick.

Salah sparked a furore ahead of the game by declaring his disappointment with Liverpool’s failure to offer him a contract renewal.

The Egyptian has been in sparkling form this season and his pace and trickery fooled Ferland Mendy into a mistimed challenge.

Salah, though, gave Madrid a lifeline by firing his penalty off the outside of the post.

Liverpool had to wait just six more minutes for the cushion of a second goal as substitute Gakpo rose highest from a corner to power a header past Courtois.

HORROR OWN GOAL AS CELTIC RESCUE DRAW

Meanwhile, Daizen Maeda’s superb equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw for Celtic against Club Brugge and kept them on course for the knockout phase.

A disastrous own goal from Cameron Carter-Vickers handed Brugge a first-half lead in Glasgow, but a moment of inspiration from Maeda spared Celtic from a potentially damaging defeat.

Belgian champions Brugge were chasing successive wins over British sides after ending Aston Villa’s perfect start to the competition, and twice went close through Ferran Jutgla and Andreas Skov Olsen.

The visitors struck in the 26th minute when Carter-Vickers passed the ball into an unguarded net after a misunderstanding with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel as Celtic tried to play their way out under Brugge’s pressing.

Celtic, after home wins over Slovan Bratislava and RB Leipzig, were seeking another to push them closer to a first appearance in the knockout rounds since 2013.

Reo Hatate drilled narrowly wide early in the second half but it was his fellow Japan international Maeda who brought Celtic level on the hour.

After turning away from his marker inside the area, Maeda whipped a curling effort in off the far post for his third goal in the competition this season.

Brugge thought they had regained the lead with 20 minutes to play but Jutgla’s strike was ruled out for a tight offside, with both teams currently in position to advance from the league phase.

Celtic are 20th in the 36-team standings on eight points, while Brugge are two places and one point behind.

LATE DRAMA AS VILLA MADE TO SETTLE FOR A DRAW

In other news, Emiliano Martinez produced a wonder save and Aston Villa were controversially denied a last-gasp winner as they played out a 0-0 draw with Juventus.

Chances were at a premium in Birmingham but the home side had Argentina international Martinez to thank for keeping the scores level.

Unai Emery’s Villa raced out of the blocks in Europe this season, winning their first three matches, but they have now failed to any of their past seven games in all competitions.

Emery made it clear before the match that a draw would not be a bad result against the Italian giants as he plots an exit from the revamped group stage.

Juventus, playing without a recognised striker, enjoyed the bulk of possession in the early stages but showed little punch against the home side.

The game opened up as the first half progressed.

Teenager Kenan Yildiz drifted in from the left but dragged his shot wide of Martinez’s right-hand post in the 20th minute.

The first shot on target for either side came when Ollie Watkins controlled a clever Boubacar Kamara pass in the 37th minute but Juventus goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio pushed the ball behind.

Matty Cash lashed a shot towards goal from the resulting corner but it hit a Juventus player and the Italians broke with pace, Timothy Weah, playing up front, firing over from distance.

Martinez then kept out a shot from the impressive Francisco Conceicao. But Villa came closest to breaking the deadlock in first-half stoppage time when Lucas Digne rattled the crossbar from a free-kick.

Both teams showed more urgency early in the second half as the game picked up pace, with the home crowd trying to lift Villa.

Two-time champions Juventus had a glorious chance to take the lead in the 65th minute when the ball fell to Conceicao at the back post from a corner.

He got his effort on target but somehow Martinez made up ground to his right, diving low to keep the ball out, millimetres short of crossing the line.

Five minutes later Villa were denied when Bailey crossed for John McGinn, whose shot was kept out by the outstretched boot of Manuel Locatelli.

Villa thought they had won the match in the final seconds when Morgan Rogers hooked in from close range after a Youri Tielemans free-kick.

But the officials ruled there had been a foul on the goalkeeper. Villa, playing their first season in the Europe’s top-tier competition since the 1982/83 season, started their campaign with three wins, including a memorable 1-0 triumph against Bayern Munich before defeat at Club Brugge.

Juventus now have two wins, two draws and a defeat.

DORTMUND GET IT DONE WITH EASE

Elsewhere, goals from Jamie Gittens, Ramy Bensebaini and Serhou Guirassy took Borussia Dortmund to a 3-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb.

English winger Gittens opened the scoring with a stunning long-range solo effort before half-time, shooting in from the edge of the box.

Bensebaini headed in a Pascal Gross corner early in the second half and Guirassy came off the bench to add a third late, sealing the result.

The win, Dortmund’s first away victory in any competition since September, sent them into the top four and all but sealed at least a spot in the knockout rounds.

One concern for Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin will be Julian Brandt’s fitness ahead of the weekend’s game against Bayern Munich.

“I hope it’s not too bad. Brandt is extremely important for our game,” Sahin said, adding the 28-year-old was “almost irreplaceable”.

Midfielder Brandt, captaining the side with Emre Can on the bench, was replaced after limping off before half-time with a reported thigh injury.

Zagreb had rebounded in the Champions League after an opening round 9-2 thrashing at the hands of Dortmund’s German rivals Bayern, winning two and drawing another to climb into the knockout places.

The home fans welcomed last season’s Champions League finalists with loud fireworks in a stadium still showing scars of a 2020 earthquake, with its capacity reduced by 14,000 due to fears of collapse.

The visitors, on a run of six straight away losses in all competitions, took a while to get started, Zagreb’s Ronael Pierre-Gabriel blasting just over the bar on the counter and startling Dortmund into life.

Donyell Malen hit the crossbar after 28 minutes. Gittens found Malen unmarked and one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the 41st minute but the Dutchman headed wide.

Seconds later, Gittens took matters into his own hands, dribbling past three defenders to give himself space before unleashing a superb dipping strike into the top right corner.

Still just 20, the goal was Gittens’ fourth in his fifth Champions League game this campaign.

Gross found Bensebaini from a corner just after half-time for Dortmund’s second, the Algerian standing tall and heading past the Zagreb keeper.

With one eye on Saturday’s clash with Bayern, Sahin made three changes with half an hour remaining, including bringing on Guirassy as he returned from illness.

The Guinean showed excellent touch to seal the match with a goal in the final minute, to match Gittens’ tally of four in five Champions League games.

Dortmund have now won four of five outings in the Champions League, other than their 5-2 humbling in the Champions League final rematch against Real Madrid in October.