Liverpool were thrashed 5-2 by Real Madrid on Tuesday... but the result could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for a rule change.
Jurgen Klopp's side endured a nightmare evening at Anfield after being humbled by the reigning European champions once again. Liverpool are now on the verge of being knocked out of the Champions League for the fourth time in six seasons by Real.
The Reds established a two-goal lead on Merseyside thanks to Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, but the visitors equalised before half-time thanks to a brace from Vinicius Junior. Liverpool were then dismantled by Carlo Ancelotti's side after the interval.
Eder Militao's header made it 3-2 before Karim Benzema found the net twice to give Real a three-goal advantage. Liverpool now have a mountain to climb when they travel to Madrid on March 15 if they are to keep their European hopes alive.
In years gone by, Real's advantage would be almost unassailable. That is because UEFA used to enforce an away goals rule in the Champions League, which meant the team with the most away goals would progress if the tie finished level on aggregate.
If the rule was still in force, Liverpool would need to score at least four goals in the second leg at the Bernabeu to have any chance of progressing due to Real having five away goals in the bank. Yet Real will have just a three-goal advantage for the next game.
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The controversial rule was abolished from the 2021/22 season onwards. Tottenham famously defeated Manchester City in the quarter-finals and then Ajax in the semi-finals during the 2018/19 campaign, with both of those victories coming via the away goals rule.
The rule was criticised, as it led to home teams producing defensive displays out of fear of conceding. Many fans wanted the rule to be abolished to encourage more attacking football, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin accepting the change in June 2021.
"The away goals rule has been an intrinsic part of UEFA competitions since it was introduced in 1965," admitted Ceferin at the time. "However, the question of its abolition has been debated at various UEFA meetings over the last few years.
"Although there was no unanimity of views, many coaches, fans and other football stakeholders have questioned its fairness and have expressed a preference for the rule to be abolished."
Jordan Henderson said he had "mixed feelings" at full-time. The Liverpool captain told BT Sport: "Very difficult. It's hard to sum it up straight after the game. Mixed feelings. Frustration with the result. For large parts of the first half, we performed well and were unlucky to be level at half-time. We made too many mistakes.
"Real Madrid punished us every time tonight. A lot was [down to their quality. We didn't help ourselves for sure. We didn't defend it [Real's third goal] well enough. After that, there were a few balls we could do better. The game went away from us at that point."
