Liverpool overcomes controversial penalty call, rediscover mojo in battle of the European heavyweights

Liverpool overcame a controversial no call on a penalty in the first half to record a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in a heavyweight Champions League battle on Wednesday morning (AEDT).

There were huge celebrations at Anfield as Liverpool struck in the second half when Argentinian star Alexis Mac Allister broke the deadlock in the 61st minute after Dominik Szoboszlai whipped in a free kick from the right hand side to find Mac Allister with a header about six metres from goal.

But the Reds were awfully wasteful in front of goal having recorded 10 shots on target, despite having less possession.

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Social media was set alight in the 30th minute Liverpool thought they had a penalty after a Szoboszlai strike hit Aurélien Tchouaméni in the left arm.

As soon as the contact happened, the referee blew his whistle to award a free-kick from just outside the box, but when the incident went to VAR it was determined Tchouaméni was inside the penalty area when the ball struck him.

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However, it was ruled the Real Madrid player's arm was close to his body and in a natural position when contact with the ball was made, deeming the block legal.

Arne Slot's men climbed to sixth in the table with nine points after four games of the league stage, one place below Real who are level on points but lead on goal difference.

Liverpool, who three days earlier halted a dreadful four-game Premier League losing streak, battled from the start and kept Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on his toes before Mac Allister finally broke the deadlock.

"I think it was a good game against a really good team," Mac Allister told Amazon Prime. "(Courtois) is a fantastic keeper - we all know. He had a few saves, so again I think he's a really good keeper but today I think we were better and deserved to win."

Szoboszlai had several terrific chances on the night.

Courtois stopped what might have been a simple tap-in of Florian Wirtz's cross when he threw up a leg to stop Szoboszlai's shot in the first half. The Hungarian forced a couple more diving saves from Courtois before halftime.Real's best chance before the break was Jude Bellingham's shot from a tight angle that lunging Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili got a foot on.

Kylian Mbappe squandered a great chance for Real in the second half when he fired wide of the far post.

Liverpool looked sure to go 2-0 up in the dying minutes when Mo Salah found Cody Gakpo in front of goalbut Courtois made another brilliant save and Salah's follow-up was blocked.

Former long-time Liverpool player Trent Alexander-Arnold, who departed for Real in the close season, was a late substitute and was booed mercilessly whenever he touched the ball.

"We came here to try to win,"Federico Valverde told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus. "It's a very difficult pitch, they press hard, we had chances and so did they, and we dropped three points because of a set piece that we need to defend better."