No one embodied that hunger more than 21-year-old right-back Conor Bradley, who put in a performance that suggested Liverpool may have a perfect replacement should Trent Alexander-Arnold, as has been speculated, make his way to the Bernabeu Summer.
Bradley has put in excellent performances before, but given the opportunity and the caliber of the opposition, this was his best performance to date. Hopefully the late injury does not prove serious.
The Northern Irish defender found himself confronted by Mbappe, who started on his flank. To say he made life difficult for the big striker is an understatement.
Mbappe endured a nightmare evening and even missed a second-half penalty that would have given Real an undeserved equalizer – but one moment of their personal struggle stands out above all others.
The striker advanced dangerously in the air towards the Kop in the 31st minute until he was stopped by a thunderous, entirely legal challenge from Bradley, which cleared the ball and Mbappe out of the way.
Liverpool fans stood up to celebrate the tackle. Bradley's name echoed around Anfield as Mbappe struggled to regain his dignity.
It wasn't the only time Bradley was praised, linking with Alexis Mac Allister for the goal that finally gave Liverpool what they deserved after 52 minutes. He was even a goal threat himself when he got the best of Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a header.
When he limped off the pitch with three minutes left and was replaced by Joe Gomez, the Liverpool fans once again burst from their seats to a standing ovation.
Alexander-Arnold will have watched in admiration from the substitutes' bench. Liverpool wouldn't want to lose such an outstanding local talent, but Bradley's presence suggests the blow can be softened if it comes to that.
Liverpool can now focus on Manchester City, who are currently experiencing a severe downturn. The health of Slot's team couldn't be better as the head coach leads them calmly.
City have not had much joy at Anfield in the past, even during Pep Guardiola's glorious era. In their current state, they will not relish the prospect of facing this rampant side.
In nine visits to Anfield as City manager, Guardiola has won just once, a 4-1 win behind closed doors during the lockdown in February 2021. He has suffered five defeats and drawn three times.
The omens are not good for Guardiola and his players, who have found Anfield unyielding even at their best.
Even Slot admitted he was somewhat surprised at his record so far, saying: “I didn't have a timetable in terms of the points I wanted. You want to implement the style of play as quickly as possible. “It’s not difficult because that’s how it was.” Not so different from Jürgen.
“It's great that not only the regular players, but also the players who come up are performing as we expect. If I had counted points for this point in the season before the season started, I wouldn't have counted as many points as I do now.”
Given this growing body of evidence, City may fear they are heading into a perfect Liverpool storm at Anfield as the slot machine continues to find new gears.
