Real Madrid's Champions League Assault Rolls On, but Bigger Tests Await

Real Madrid travelled to Anfield this week with a point to prove. 

To many, of course, that may sound odd. These are the European champions after all, a group of players who made the grandest statement they could by lifting this very trophy as recently as May. 

But Liverpool and Anfield are representative of a major blemish in Real Madrid's history. It was in the corresponding fixture in 2009 when the Reds dealt the Spanish giants their heaviest ever loss in the continental competition, humiliating an outfit who arrogantly sauntered into perhaps England's most notable footballing cathedral with little awareness of what awaited them. 

Lessons from that dramatic night of five years ago—Rafa Benitez's men thrashed the visitors 4-0—had clearly been heeded by Los Blancos this time. Blemishes don't sit comfortably at the Bernabeu. 

All week during the lead-up, Real made all the right noises, as Carlo Ancelotti consistently spoke of a reverence for Wednesday's opponents—of adoration for the club that is Liverpool and its theatre. This time around, Madrid would not ignore the cherished significance of these European nights on Merseyside. 

And in doing so, Los Blancos swatted away the best both Liverpool, as a team, and Anfield, as a place of homage—Wednesday's rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was truly spine-tingling—could throw at them, laying bare the gulf in class between two outfits competing on different levels. 

Real Madrid 3-0 Liverpool. Damage reciprocated. Point proven. 

In truth, Wednesday's clash was competitive for little more than 20 minutes.

The Reds, buoyed by the palpable energy within Anfield's walls, made a predictably frantic start, operating at a tempo that, while compelling, could never be maintained. Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho, the most fleet of foot in Liverpool's XI, were the catalysts, with left-back Alberto Moreno finding himself drawn into a similar intensity. 

But while Brendan Rodgers' players admirably charged forward early on, the exuberance that's fuelled by anxiety and nerves inevitably dims.

That it lasted all of 20 minutes could be considered a small achievement. 

Jon Super/Associated Press

True to form, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who took the first vacuum to the hosts' sense of vigour, sharing a sumptuous piece of interplay with James Rodriguez before flashing a strike that both Martin Skrtel and Simon Mignolet were powerless to stop. 

Though the score was just 1-0, the vibrancy of Anfield's renowned atmosphere was noticeably quelled. Ditto for the men in red.  

Just seven minutes later, Karim Benzema added a second, following it with a third almost as quickly. The pieces of play leading to the goals were hardly spectacular, but Real's storming attack had a sapping, accumulative effect on Liverpool that they didn't have the strength to resist. 

Jon Super/Associated Press

Of course, Los Blancos' display wasn't what you'd call virtuoso. No masterpiece. But those that are put forward in monumental occasions rarely are.

Instead, Real Madrid simply did what good teams do. They did what Real Madrid do, namely overwhelming an opponent to the point where summoning the fire to compete grows increasingly difficult with each minute that passes. 

Such a process, as it typically does, begins in midfield, and Wednesday was no exception. 

Between them, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Isco enjoyed 311 touches on the turf inside Anfield—almost 100 more than the Reds' central trio of Steven Gerrard, Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson, per WhoScored.com. Supremely gifted on the ball, Real's triumvirate wore the hosts into the ground, with the Spaniard's sharpness complementing the serene dispositions belonging to the Croatian and the German.  

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

In the wake of such a clinical performance, the focus will quickly turn to Real Madrid's capacity to do what no team has done in the Champions League era—defend the title. 

"Can we retain the cup? Why not? We're taking it step by step, but we're going to try," Ronaldo told the BBC after Wednesday's victory, per Inside Spanish Football. "We know it will be tough, but we're positive, and it's possible."

Right now, those in gleaming white are likely daring you to doubt them, pointing to an unfathomable, eight-game stretch that has yielded a combined score of 35-5 in favour of Los Blancos. 

Perspective, however, is needed at such moments. Of the eight slaughtered opponents, Liverpool are the only outfit that even border on elite but find themselves struggling to fight away their grotesque, hard-hitting Luis Suarez hangover. 

The others were, well, cannon fodder for Madrid. 

Saturday's El Clasico clash with Barcelona, therefore, will provide a true indication of the strength of Ancelotti's surging side, allowing us the chance to view Real alongside their peers and pitting them against an opponent standing as an obvious rival. 

Do the same to Lionel Messi and Co., and those across Europe—from Bavaria to west London, from Catalonia to the other side of Madrid—will want to avoid football's white-hot force.