Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema scored twice as Real Madrid produced another stunning Champions League fightback from 2-0 down to thrash Liverpool 5-2 in the first leg of their last 16 tie at Anfield Tuesday.
Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah had given the hosts a perfect start in a repeat of last season's Champions League final.
But Vinicius struck twice to level by half-time and, after Eder Militao had given Carlo Ancelotti's men the lead, Benzema's double put the holders well on the way to the quarter-finals.
Once the action got underway, the players produced the spectacle expected of a clash between two clubs with a combined 20 European Cups.
Liverpool have suffered a huge hangover from missing out on both the Premier League and Champions League by the finest of margins last season.
Jurgen Klopp's men sit eighth in the Premier League but briefly turned back the clock to explode out of the blocks.
Nunez produced a magical finish to flick home Salah's pass inside four minutes.
Thibaut Courtois broke Liverpool hearts in Paris with a string of stunning saves that earned the Belgian man-of-the-match.
Real overcame two-goal deficits to Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City on their road to a 14th European Cup last season and were forced to do so again by their normally solid goalkeeper.
A loose touch from Courtois handed Salah Liverpool's second on a plate as the Egyptian became the Reds' all-time top goalscorer in European competition with 42.
But the defending champions again showed remarkable powers of recovery to turn the tie around in little over 30 minutes of play.
Vinicius was the match-winner in last season's final and now has five goals in four appearances against Liverpool.
The Brazilian flashed a shot into the far corner to get the comeback started on 21 minutes.
Real still needed some desperate defending from Dani Carvajal and Militao to prevent Salah and Nunez restoring Liverpool's two-goal lead in a goalmouth scramble.
But another calamitous error from one of the world's leading goalkeepers gifted Real an equalizer when Alisson Becker's attempted clearance bounced off Vinicius and into an unguarded net.
Only a brilliant last-ditch challenge from Andy Robertson prevented Rodrygo Goes from putting Real in front before half-time.
However, Liverpool's leaky defence was far more brittle at the start of the second period as Militao was afforded a free header to turn in Luka Modric's free-kick.
Fortune was also on the side of the Spanish giants for the fourth goal as Benzema's shot deflected off Joe Gomez to leave Alisson stranded.
There was nothing lucky about the visitors' fifth as a clinical team move cut Liverpool to pieces.
Modric burst through midfield and fed Vinicius, who teed up Benzema to coolly round Alisson and slot into the top corner.
The sides meet again on March 15, but the second leg now appears little more than a formality on a night Real showed why they remain the kings of Europe.
Napoli beat Frankfurt 2-0
Napoli's Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen got on the scoresheet again as the Serie A leaders beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in their Champions League last 16, first leg Tuesday.
Osimhen scored before the break as Giovanni Di Lorenzo doubled their lead after the interval before the second leg in southern Italy on March 15.
Having scored in each of his last seven league matches, Osimhen gave the visitors the lead after 39 minutes, finishing off a swift counter just after Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp saved a Napoli penalty.
Frankfurt were reduced to ten men early in the second half after a nasty challenge from striker Randal Kolo Muani found the shin of Napoli's Frank Anguissa.
The visitors doubled their lead soon afterwards when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia set up Di Lorenzo with a superb back heel - putting Napoli on course for what would be their first ever Champions League quarter final appearance.
Buoyed on by a home crowd celebrating the club's first venture into the Champions League knockout rounds, Frankfurt started stronger, with in-form striker Kolo Muani creating a goal chance out of nothing after four minutes.
With his back to goal inside the Napoli penalty area, the France forward chipped the ball over his head, turning to fire just wide of the right upright.
But as the opening half wore on the visitors' quality began to show, with the runaway Serie A leaders dominating possession and field position.
The win sees Napoli return to Naples for the return leg in a dominant position as the 1988-89 Europa League winners look to go past the last 16 for the first time in their history.
The current Europa League holders Frankfurt will likely see their first Champions League campaign come to an end at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in March, unless they can turn the tie dramatically in their own favor.
RESULTS
Liverpool 2 (Nunez 4, Salah 14) 5 Real Madrid (Vinicius 21, 36, Militao 47, Benzema 55, 67)
Frankfurt 0 2 Napoli (Osimhen 40, Di Lorenzo 65)
