Slot's machine rolls over Ancelotti's Real

Liverpool is 100 percent on top of the Champions League after dumping title-holder Real Madrid into an almost unbelievable 24th place in the 36-team league table on Wednesday.

No one felt the embarrassment of Madrid's 2-0 loss at Anfield more than Kylian Mbappe, the superstar added in the offseason to the roster of the storied club, which was crowned European champion against Liverpool in both 2022 and 2018.

Mbappe had a penalty saved in the second half and was earlier dumped on his behind by Conor Bradley's superb tackle in what became an instant viral moment.

Only Liverpool has started the newlook Champions League campaign with five wins, leaving first-year coach Arne Slot's team two points clear of nearest placed Inter Milan. Barcelona is third, trailing Liverpool by three points.

Madrid is, remarkably, with three rounds left, just one place above being eliminated. The top eight teams at the end of January go directly into the round of 16 in March, and teams placed from ninth to 24th enter a round of two-leg playoffs in February.

" (This) doesn't change much, because, even with a win, it was going to be tough to secure a top-eight finish," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "It was a fair result."

Monaco missed a chance to go second in the table, giving up a lead after having to play with 10 men from the 58th minute in a 3-2 loss at home to Benfica. Swiss forward Zeki Amdouni scored the winner in the 88th minute.

Borussia Dortmund, runner-up in last season's final against Madrid in May, is up to fourth place after beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0. Champions League standout Jamie Gittens now has four goals in five games, curling a rising shot in the 41st minute to open the scoring in Croatia.

The best comeback was at PSV Eindhoven, where the home team trailed Shakhtar Donetsk by two goals in the 87th minute, before sealing a 3-2 win courtesy of United States forward Ricardo Pepi's goal deep in stoppage time.

US defender Cameron Carter-Vickers scored an embarrassing own goal for Celtic — playing a no-look pass far beyond goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel — resulting in a 1-1 draw with Club Brugge.

"It's one of those things," Schmeichel said. "Cam gets pressed and he hasn't heard me shout that I'm not in (goal)."

Congo teammates Ngal'Ayel Mukau and Silas Katompa-Mvumpa impressed in wins for their respective clubs, Lille and Red Star Belgrade.

Mukau scored twice in 12th-place Lille's 2-1 win at Bologna and Silas leveled for Red Star in its 5-1 rout of Stuttgart, though he barely celebrated his goal as he is on loan to the Serbian champion from Stuttgart.

Aston Villa preserved a point in 0-0 draw with Juventus thanks to an excellent save by Emiliano Martinez, the World Cup-winning Argentina goalkeeper, who dived low to push away a header from Francisco Conceicao.

Bradley on the charge

Liverpool's stand-in right back Bradley was a standout on Wednesday, denying Mbappe at high speed in a signature defensive play in the 32nd.

The 21-year-old Northern Ireland defender, deputizing for Trent Alexander-Arnold, joined the attack in the 52nd to play a key pass, returning the ball to Alexis Mac Allister who scored the opening goal.

After Mbappe's penalty was pushed away by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in the 61st, Liverpool star Mo Salah missed with his spot-kick in the 70th, before substitute Cody Gakpo sealed the win with a header in the 77th.

Madrid now has lost three of its five games after defeats at Lille and at home to AC Milan. The record 15-time European champion has another tough trip next, to fifth-placed Atalanta on Dec 10.On the same date, Liverpool is at 30th-placed Girona, and looks to be cruising into the round of 16.

"You know how special it is to play against a team that has won the Champions League so many times. They were a pain for Liverpool for many years, too," said a delighted Slot, whose team has now won five out of five in Europe's elite club competition. "I think it's always good to win a game, and especially a big game like this, because you face so many quality players," he added. "We are only five games into the new format, we are happy where we are, but we're not getting carried away."

With his team top of both the Champions League and the Premier League, Slot has made an astonishing start since replacing Jurgen Klopp, adding more solidity at the back and control in midfield, without sacrificing its attacking threat.

"I didn't have a schedule in terms of the amount of points I wanted. You want to implement a playing style as soon as possible. That is not difficult, because it wasn't that different to Jurgen's," he said.

Next up for Liverpool is Manchester City on Sunday in the Premier League and a chance to open up an 11-point gap with its main domestic rival.

"Man City have not been on the best run at the moment, but what a team," said Kelleher. "We're going to expect a really tough test again, and it's important we keep winning in the (domestic) league, as well, to keep that gap."

First wins, first points

Red Star Belgrade and Sturm Graz both ended four-game losing runs to get their first points and wins.

Red Star rallied against Stuttgart after the German team led in the fifth minute. The 1991 European Cup winner's goal to level the game in the 12th was scored by on-loan Silas. He held up his hands as if in apology to his parent club.

Sturm Graz won 1-0 against Girona, the Spanish newcomer to European competition.

It was the Austrian champion's first Champions League game since coach Christian Ilzer left to join Hoffenheim.

Agencies via Xinhua