‘That’s why Madrid are champions…’

Brendan Rodgers had few complaints after seeing his Liverpool side taken apart by Champions League holders Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring and two goals from Karim Benzema made it 3-0 before half-time, the score staying that way until the final whistle.

Rodgers commended his side for their early flurry but admitted that by the end of the match, Madrid deserved to win.

“I thought we made an excellent start for the first 20 minutes but after they got that first goal, they showed their quality,” he told Sky Sports.

“In the second half we were playing for pride, the player kept going, they didn't stop – they were playing against a top-quality team.

“We defended poorly on one or two of the goals but I can't ask for any more – we probably needed to get a goal in that opening period.

“You can see Real's quality. Speed, technique…you can see why they are champions. The second and third goals are from set-pieces again, it's an issue for us and we have to be better than that.

“We'll look at it and learn but we were punished by a top-class side.”

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