The Liverpool team was swept away by Madrid by half time[GETTY]
The last time Liverpool trailed by a gaping 3-0 half-time deficit, as Carlo Ancelotti will be well aware, they clambered off the canvas to write arguably the greatest chapter in their rich European heritage in Istanbul.
Here they remained out cold. Battered into submission by Real Madrid as the Champions League holders strutted their stuff, constructed their lightning counter-attacks and ruthlessly feasted on the hosts’ defensive deficiencies to ensure there was no way back.
As Liverpool trudged wearily off at the final whistle, groggy and dazed, they could not even cling to the consolation that their torment was over.
The sobering reality is that they must endure this all over again in a fortnight and this time on Real’s own patch.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the floodgates with an exquisite finish from a sumptuous pass from James Rodriguez and while that was a goal constructed – and finished – by £145 million worth of talent, there was rather less mystique as to what followed.
Liverpool are finding life at this rarefied level the steepest of learning curves, though the inadequacy of their defending would be punished by players far less equipped than Karim Benzema who eagerly helped himself to a brace. Mario Balotelli’s failure to reappear after the interval will raise eyebrows and his ill-advised decision to swap shirts with Pepe at the break took the breath away.
If he was the only Liverpool player who did, then singling him out today only serves as a smokescreen.
Morale could take a bashing in the Bernabeu, but at least Brendan Rodgers knows his side’s hopes of progressing into the knock-out stages remain in their hands following Basle’s surprise defeat by Ludogorets elsewhere in Group B.
Karim Benzema bags Madrid's second goal at Anfield [GETTY]
What Liverpool must learn is the slightest glimmer of a chance has to be turned into something tangible.
Had Balotelli released Raheem Sterling, who had been pushed forward alongside the Italian, instead of driving forward head down, or if Alvaro Arbeloa had not crudely leaned into the teenager when he threatened to tear on to Jordan Henderson’s raking pass, then a bright start might have been better. Yet this is what Real do. They leave their rivals to rue ‘if only,’ and ‘what if’ moments while they concentrate on wreaking havoc.
Inside seven whirlwind minutes midway through the first half, the contest was over. Bang. Bang. You’re dead.
Liverpool started surrendering possession too easily and space too readily. Toni Kroos became a creeping influence having spent the first 20 minutes under the radar, and if anyone doubted why Real lavish such vast amounts in the transfer market it is for moments like the one which ushered the breakthrough in the 23rd minute.
There was an ominous feel to the way they toyed with the ball with Liverpool pushed back before Rodriguez conjured a moment of outstanding quality.
After receiving a pass from Ronaldo, the Colombian delivered a delicious chip, his left boot a wand, which was so precise it evaded not only the outstretched leg of Dejan Lovren but fell perfectly into the stride of his team-mate who had surged into the penalty area.
In the blink of an eye, the ball was in the back of the net. Ronaldo’s 70th Champions League goal the very definition of world class as he swept a shot beyond Simon Mignolet.
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It was his first goal at Anfield – Real’s first against Liverpool – and what followed was a procession.
“Ole, ole, ole” rang out long before the interval, each cutting chant a stark reminder of the sheer gulf in class.
Real made it 2-0 after half an hour when Kroos’s deep cross was met with a header from the unmarked Benzema which looped into the far corner and then there was time for Liverpool to concede their customary goal from a set-piece.
Kroos’s corner brushed off the head of Raphael Varane, hit Pepe in the chest and he reacted quicker than Mignolet and Martin Skrtel to toe-poke the ball to Benzema, who tucked home the chance. Liverpool could muster little by way of a coherent response.
Philippe Coutinho struck a post from 25 yards with Iker Casillas beaten on the stroke of half-time and, though they stuck to their task thereafter, their greatest achievement was in keeping the score down.
Real sought to right the wrong of five years ago when they lost 4-0, but Ronaldo was denied by Mignolet after another slick attack.
Ronaldo departed after 75 minutes, all smiles and to gracious applause. Sadly for Liverpool, it is not the last they will see of him or his team-mates’ masterclass.
Liverpool (4-1-2-1-2): Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Lovren, Moreno; Gerrard; Henderson (Can 67), Allen; Coutinho (Markovic 67); Balotelli (Lallana 46), Sterling. NEXT UP: Hull (h) Sat, PL.
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Casillas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo (Nacho 85); Modric, Kroos (Illarramendi 82), Isco; Rodriguez, Benzema, Ronaldo (Khedira 75). Booked: Kroos. Goals: Ronaldo 23, Benzema 30, 41.