Three things Klopp got wrong as Liverpool hammered by Real Madrid

Liverpool were in dreamland after 15 minutes at Anfield as they took a 2-0 lead against Real Madrid - but Carlo Ancelotti's side hit back with five unanswered goals.

With Darwin Nunez opening the scoring with a fine flick, Mohamed Salah made it two thanks to Thibaut Courtois' blunder - with Vinicius Jr's sublime strike followed up with by a clanger from Alisson.

With Eder Militao and Karim Benzema (2) on target in the second-half, Daily Star Sport outlined where Jurgen Klopp went wrong as a blistering start to the game ended in a nightmare.

Nunez got Liverpool off the mark with a supremely confident finish from Salah's cross - which could yet kickstart his season.

The Uruguay international has looked lively, but wild, in front of goal since his summer switch, which could rise to £85million with add-ons.

Despite those struggles, Klopp has publicly backed the 23-year-old to come good, as he did in the opening minutes of their biggest game of the season so far.

Another feature of Liverpool's poor early season form had been Klopp's refusal to put any blame on his players, accepting all fault for their domestic struggles.

That tactic has proved to be a dangerous one as his players fail to string together victories, having already been knocked out of both domestic cups and sitting ninth in the table.

Although Klopp has the love of supporters, maybe his players need to take on more responsibility for their poor form with their silverware hopes for the season in tatters.

Having rushed into a 2-0 lead against the reigning European champions, Klopp would've known that the next goal was absolutely vital, as per the old adage over scorelines.

Not only did Real Madrid get one back, but Alisson's complacent pass before the break cancelled out their precious lead that had the crowd dreaming of a quarter-final.

To add insult to injury, Real Madrid scored with ease through Militao at the start of the second with Benzema making it four and five - with Liverpool having no answer.

Although it wouldn't have been pretty, Liverpool could well have kept some hope in the tie had they shut up shop after Real Madrid's third goal, with the momentum entirely with the visitors.

The Reds carried on going toe-to-toe with the Spanish giants, who welcomed those tactics and grabbed another two goals to give them a three-goal lead to take back to the Bernabeu in March.

Not only would a one-goal deficit give them some hope, it also wouldn't sit on the mind quite so heavy in the four Premier League games they have to play before the second-leg kicks-off.