Ferdinand claims ‘Rottweilers’ Liverpool are the ‘best team in Europe’

Rio Ferdinand believes Liverpool are the “best team in Europe” after they comfortably beat Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday.

The Premier League leaders earned the three points through two second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, while Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty that would have brought the visitors level.

Liverpool became only the fifth team to win the first five games of the Champions League campaign while conceding no more than one goal, after Milan (92/93), Juventus (04/05) and Atletico Madrid (16/17) and PSG (17/18).

Ferdinand was impressed by Arne Slot's influence as he praised his party's tenacity.

“They have laid the gauntlet on all other teams in Europe. They seem to be the best team in Europe at the moment,” he told TNT Sports.

“They play as a team; it looks like they have the hungriest individuals around. Not only are they getting the results, but they look starved.

'They look like they haven't been fed in ages. He sends them onto the field like Rottweilers, chasing teams.”

Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid

An excellent night for Liverpool as they dominate Real Madrid at Anfield and end an eight-game winless run against the Spanish giants.

Watch the match again with our statistics report: | #UCL pic.twitter.com/LiKfk3IdLi

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) November 27, 2024

Liverpool arguably outperformed Real Madrid, finishing 15 points at the top of the Champions League competition stage.

They scored an expected goals total (xG) of 2.73 compared to Real Madrid's 1.22 xG, making 17 shots compared to the visitors' eight.

“They have the composure; they have people like Mo Salah who have the killer instinct to finish games. I thought all their players performed very well,” Ferdinand added.

“I said before the match that Arne Slot would have liked to see what his team can produce in a match of this magnitude against the Champions League winners, and he got a very positive response.”

Caoimhin Kelleher has now saved three of the four penalties he has conceded for Liverpool in all competitions (excluding shootouts), with this being only the second penalty Mbappe has failed to convert in the Champions League.

Mbappe has scored just one goal in the league this season after struggling for Madrid last summer.

However, former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale backed the 25-year-old to perform well in Spain.

“It does happen. I've missed penalties, everyone has missed penalties. It's just a shame that things aren't going Mbappe's way at the moment,” Bale said.

“But I think he's the best in the world on his day. It's only a matter of time before he gets good.”