In the end, it took three Liverpool players to break Real Madrid's resistance. The Premier League champions had been searching for the breakthrough against Xabi Alonso's side for an hour of the UEFA Champions League clash at Anfield, only for their efforts to be repeatedly repelled by the heroics of Thibaut Courtois in the Madrid goal.
Just when it was starting to look like it could be one of those nights for Liverpool, Ryan Gravenberch won a free kick in dangerous proximity to the opposition box, Dominik Szoboszlai whipped in a tantalizing ball which Alexis Mac Allister nodded deftly beyond Courtois to give the hosts a precious lead at Anfield.
The goal proved decisive, with Liverpool's 1-0 victory lifting them into the top eight of the Champions League table. After a torrid run in which they had lost six out of seven games in all competitions, the Reds' triumph against the LaLiga leaders was their second win in a matter of days, following a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League last weekend.
The common denominator in both games? A return to last season's title-winning midfield of Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister, with all three players acquitting themselves brilliantly against both Villa and Madrid.
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That the trio combined to deliver the winning goal against Alonso's side was fitting, considering it is their skill and industry that has perhaps been the biggest factor in Liverpool's burgeoning revival. Having spent much of the campaign looking unbalanced, the Reds have appeared far more solid with their tried-and-tested engine room restored, while £100 million summer signing Florian Wirtz thrived in a more advanced position against Madrid.
"In the middle of the park, [Liverpool] were fantastic," former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol said on the ESPN FC show on Tuesday. "That three of Mac Allister, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai were outstanding. Szoboszlai in the first half was absolutely world class and Arne Slot, in my opinion, got this absolutely 100% right because nobody expected him to play Wirtz [on the left] and he was allowed to drift. He got into positions to knit everything together. It was dream zone for Liverpool."
Having spent months tinkering with his lineup, it seems like Slot has finally reverted to last season's winning formula. But why has it taken so long for the Liverpool boss to go back to basics? And could the return to a more familiar midfield be the key to salvaging the Reds' season? Has Wirtz experiment "destroyed" Liverpool's midfield?
Ahead of the win over Madrid, legendary Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger pulled no punches in his assessment of Liverpool's recent struggles, pinning some of their issues on Slot's desire to integrate big-money arrival Wirtz into his starting XI.
"When Wirtz had the choice between going to Bayern Munich or Liverpool, he said to Liverpool: 'I come to you if I play No 10. I do not want to play wide,'" Wenger told beIN Sports. "Liverpool, to get him, they say OK. They started him and they destroyed their midfield -- which was Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai."
Arne Slot heaps praise on Liverpool's performance, especially Conor Bradley, following their crucial 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League.
It was, perhaps, a little harsh on Wirtz, whose performances this term have largely been of a standard that might be expected of a talented young player adapting to the pace of a new league. Still, the 22-year-old's hefty transfer fee has inevitably brought with it an intense level of scrutiny, and it is fair to say he has struggled at times with the physicality of English football. That Slot opted against starting him in two of Liverpool's biggest games of the season -- at Chelsea and at home to Manchester United -- was a quiet acknowledgement of that fact, with Wirtz's deficiencies particularly exposed in the 3-2 defeat to Brentford last month.
"For a player who comes from a different league, which is a very good league by the way, nine out of 10 people would agree the Premier League is a bit more intense, especially in all the games," Slot said of the Germany international this week. "If you look at that then he already played a lot.
"He has had his impact in a lot of games but has been unlucky with the end product, either by himself or his teammates. For me, he exactly brought what we expected, a player who created a lot for the team. He will have his goals, but I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone that if you're 22 or 23 and come to a different league that you might need some time to adjust to that intensity if you play every three days, with only two days' rest in between."
Wirtz, though, has not been Liverpool's only midfield problem this season. Mac Allister -- who deservedly earned a place in last season's PFA Team of the Year after an outstanding individual campaign -- has also struggled for both form and fitness in recent months. After his 2024-25 season was curtailed by injury, the Argentina international endured a hugely disrupted preseason and has looked for much of the campaign like someone still playing catch-up, only once completing a full 90 minutes (against Villa).
"It's true that maybe it wasn't the beginning [of the season] that I wanted, it was a little bit hard for me," Mac Allister told Prime Video Sport on Tuesday. "But now I'm getting in the rhythm I just wanted to play some games in a row so I'm happy that I had the possibility to play against Villa and again today. So, I'm really happy with it."
Gravenberch, too, has seen his season blighted by injury, sustaining an ankle problem in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United which ruled him out for three games. Liverpool's issues at right-back have also had a knock-on effect in midfield, with Szoboszlai having been called upon to drop back as cover for Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong. While the Hungary international has deputized capably in defense, Liverpool have suffered without his energy and dynamism higher up the pitch, while the constant changing of personnel in both midfield and defense has often left Slot's side looking like a team in flux. "Outstanding" Szoboszlai and Gravenberch key to revival
Central to Liverpool's success in the Premier League last season was their robustness and consistency in the middle of the park, with the combination of Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister starting 28 of the club's 56 games in all competitions. Against Villa and Madrid, the familiarity between the trio was clear to see and contributed to a much more fluent team display, with Szoboszlai in particular showing his class. Amid all of Liverpool's struggles this season, the 25-year-old has been a shining light, showcasing the impressive brand of quality and leadership that was central to him being named captain of his national team back in 2022.
"He always had very high football intelligence," Zsolt Székely, academy director of Szoboszlai's former club MTK Budapest, told ESPN in February. "He had incredible technique. How he kicked the ball, it was something new to us. When he passed the ball, players always passed it back to him. He always wanted to have the ball at his feet.
"He always stood out. I have never seen such a complete player as him. It was always clear he would be successful. His life was football. He was born for football. He didn't have a smartphone, he didn't have Facebook. He just played football all day, with us or with his father. He was crazy about it."
That relentless drive to succeed has helped to cement Szoboszlai's status as one of the first names on the team sheet for Liverpool this season. Against Madrid, he ranked top for shots on target (five), passes (40) and crosses (three), and second for touches (55), with Slot this week describing his work off the ball over the past two games as "even above his own standards."
Liverpool boss Arne Slot gives a positive update around the fitness of Alexander Isak ahead of their game against Manchester City.
Gravenberch has also been among Liverpool's standout performers this season, with his continued evolution into one of the best holding midfielders in Europe ranking highly on the list of Slot's biggest managerial feats.
"We are God-believing people, and we think God sent Arne to us and to Liverpool," the 23-year-old's father, Ryan Gravenberch Sr. told ESPN last year. "Obviously he's Dutch so when he explains something to Ryan, he can understand it very clearly. He communicates superbly. The main thing he's said to Ryan is: 'I'm going to play you and so it is on you to maintain playing.' He was very clear about that and that has worked for both sides."
While it could be argued that Liverpool are still missing a more combative profile of player at the base of midfield, Gravenberch's ability to progress the ball from deep is fundamental to the way Slot wants his team to play, with the midfielder also now contributing at the top end of the pitch, having already scored three goals this term (after scoring four in his first 87 appearances for the club).
"It helps if the team plays more and more together."
Of course, Liverpool still have work to do to prove they are truly back in business. The win over Madrid was a statement but it will mean little if Slot's side fail to back it up with a similarly improved display against Manchester City. Given the impressive nature of his team's performance in midweek, it would not be a surprise to see Slot stick with the same starting XI at the Etihad, with Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister all having excelled in this same fixture last season.
"I don't know if the focus should be that much about these three midfielders," the Liverpool boss said when asked about the trio in his pre-match news conference. "It is true that I couldn't have played them many times together yet [this season] for obvious reasons -- injuries, mainly. Not only in the midfield sometimes, but sometimes in other positions. That's why I needed Dominik in different positions. It helps if the team plays more and more together."
Certainly, that sense of rhythm and continuity seems to have helped Slot's side over the past two games. If his favored midfield three can maintain those levels against City, this week could mark a real turning point in Liverpool's season.