Given the Reds' disastrous form of late and Real's almost perfect start to the UCL and LaLiga seasons, it was clearly going to take a monumental effort from Arne Slot's men to grab all three points.
200 up for Mo Salah
Mo Salah, so often Liverpool's talisman, was making his 200th appearance for the club at Anfield, a ground where he had scored 137 goals and assisted a further 57 in his first 199 games at the famous old stadium.
A sign of things to come during the match could be seen in the opening quarter hour.
During that entire 15 minutes, Real had managed just one touch in Liverpool's box, whilst Alexis Mac Allister on his own had got two shots away.
Alvaro Carreras, the visitors' overworked left-back, had already made four tackles as the Reds appeared to make a conscious effort to attack down his side of the pitch.
Off-target attempts from Kylian Mbappe, Eder Militao and Aurelien Tchouameni suggested that Xabi Alonso's side were at least attempting to get a foothold in the match, but with Florian Wirtz already creating three chances for the hosts, it was they who were in the ascendancy.
Vini Jr was ineffective throughout
Try as Vinicius Junior might to affect proceedings when Real attempted to alleviate the pressure, the Brazilian was ineffective as an attacking force.
Though he managed nine touches in the Liverpool box across the 90 minutes, more than double any of his team-mates, he didn't have a single shot in the entire match.
Were it not for Thibaut Courtois, particularly in the first half, Real would've been well beaten by half-time.
His eight saves in a man-of-the-match performance were arguably never bettered than when he went full-length to turn a Dominik Szoboszlai piledriver around the post in front of a disbelieving Kop end.
The Belgian stopper made four or more first-half saves for the seventh time in a Champions League game, with three of those instances coming against Liverpool (four in March 2023 and five in the 2022 final).
Courtois showed why he's the best in the business
To put Courtois' excellence into even more context, he had conceded with the first shot on target he faced against Marseille on matchday one, but had since made 19 consecutive saves in the UCL without conceding.
Szoboszlai managed four shots on target on the night in Liverpool's total of nine, with Real executing just two in response from Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler in the final minute of the first half, and in what was an underwhelming team performance from the serial UCL winners.
Even with 74.7% possession during lengthy periods of the first 45 minutes, there was never a time when Los Blancos truly threatened their opponents.
However, they hadn't conceded before the official blew his whistle to end the half and, as such, were still in a game in which they were being dominated in virtually all aspects.
Liverpool's onslaught continued after half-time
Three shots in the opening five minutes of the second half indicated that Liverpool's onslaught would simply continue, and with Real's defence shorn of three of their usual back four, the question remained as to how long the visitors could hold out.
With Militao and Dean Huijsen making 14 clearances between them, it really was backs-against-the-wall stuff from Madrid.
On the hour mark, Szoboszlai sent in a wicked free-kick from the right-hand side, and Mac Allister, one of the smallest players on the pitch, somehow sent a bullet header past Courtois for a deserved Liverpool lead.
In so doing, the Argentinian had netted for the first time in the UCL since 27th November 2024 against Real Madrid.
When scoring first, the Reds had only lost one of their last 94 home games in all competitions: a 5-2 loss from 2-0 up vs Real Madrid in February 2023 (W86 D7) - so the odds were clearly stacked against a comeback from the visitors.
No support for Mbappe
To their credit, Real once again bossed possession, and Mbappe was at least doing his level best to try and get his team back on terms.
However, with the lack of support being provided by Vinicius, Arda Guler and, later in the game, Rodrygo, it was an uphill battle for the Frenchman.
A flurry of late substitutions also saw the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to the team where he made his name, and the boos that rang out as he took to the field were in stark contrast to the cheers he received throughout his Liverpool career.
His cameo appearance meant that he became just the second Englishman to play against Liverpool in the competition, having previously played for them, after Larry Lloyd (then of Nottingham Forest) in September 1978.
The game ended as it had begun
Two late blocked shots from Salah and one on target from Cody Gakpo saw the game end as it started, and when the dust settles, Alonso should be gracious enough to admit that his side got off lightly on the night.
Aside from a few notable contributions, Bellingham's 13 one-on-ones attempted, Tchouameni's winning back of possession on six separate occasions, and Militao's 96.2% pass completion, there wasn't much else for the Spanish giants to be overly happy about.
From Arne Slot's point of view, this result and the strength of performance could finally be the one to turn Liverpool's faltering season around.
