Champions League, Real Madrid beat Liverpool in quarter-finals (first leg)
A brace by Vinicius Junior helped Real Madrid defeat Liverpool 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday. This marked his first goal in the knockout stage of the Champions League. He also became the second-youngest player to score a UCL knockout goal for Real Madrid. The Zinedine Zidane-managed side has gained a substantial lead ahead of the return leg.
Madrid went in front before the half-hour mark when Vinicius fired home a long ball from Toni Kroos. Meanwhile, Marco Asensio extended their lead by adding another (36'). In the second half, Mohamed Salah brought back Liverpool in the hunt, having scored from the middle of the box. Vinicius completed his brace in the 65th minute as Madrid won 3-1.
As per Opta, no side has beaten Liverpool more often than Real Madrid (four, level with Benfica) across all European competitions. The Reds have suffered defeat in each of their last four encounters against Real Madrid. Notably, Liverpool have failed to attempt a shot in the first half of a Champions League game for the first time since November 2014 (also against Real Madrid).
Vinicius Junior became the second-youngest player to score a Champions League knockout goal for Real Madrid (20y, 268d). Notably, only Kylian Mbappe (18) in April 2017 (Dortmund) has scored a Champions League brace in the quarter-finals or later at a younger age than him.
Real Madrid's Luka Modric has become the oldest player (35y 209d) to assist in three consecutive Champions League games since Ryan Giggs for Manchester United in April 2011, who did so aged 37. Meanwhile, Asensio has now scored in four straight matches for Real Madrid in all competitions, managing as many goals over this period (4) as he did across his previous 41 matches.
