"To come back like that is just crazy" - Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger talks about his club's incredible 5-2 victory over Liverpool

Antonio Rudiger has shed light on how Real Madrid secured an incredible 5-2 win against Liverpool in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash on 21 February.

Darwin Nunez opened the scoring before Mohamed Salah doubled the hosts' lead with just 14 minutes on the clock. It looked like it could be a long day at the office for the 14-time Champions League winners.

But they weren't going to lie down that easy. A sumptuous finish from Vinicius Junior halved the deficit before he scored his second goal courtesy of a howler from Alisson Becker.

The Brazilian winger's brace came within 22 minutes after Salah's goal for Liverpool. According to Rudiger, scoring quickly after going two goals behind was key to winning the game.

Que remontada y que equipo 💯🤍🔥 #HalaMadrid #Hustle #AlwaysBelieve https://t.co/4hACUNOZxy

After the full-time whistle, the former Chelsea centre-back said (h/t 90min):

"It's crazy. I saw during the match that we still believed in it, but to come back like that is just crazy. We told ourselves we just needed one goal - and we did that quickly. After that we were back in the game. I've never experienced a night like tonight in football."

Eder Militao fired Real Madrid into the lead just three minutes into the second half. Manager Jurgen Klopp's team completely capitulated at this point in the game and went on to concede two more goals — both scored by Karim Benzema.

The return leg will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu on 15 March. While the Reds are known for their famous European comebacks, overturning a three-goal deficit in Madrid could be an implausible task even for them.

This was Klopp's fifth game against Real Madrid as Liverpool's manager. He has lost four and won none so far.

Jurgen Klopp defiant despite Liverpool's loss against Real Madrid

Manager Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Liverpool will 'go again' after learning from their mistakes in the 5-2 loss against Real Madrid.

This is what the end of an era looks like. Jurgen Klopp's first great Liverpool team is over -now he must build another one."

📰(Chris Bascombe, The Telegraph)

Thierry Henry said the same last night:

🗣️"It's the end of an era for Liverpool. https://t.co/TzWZqHTXjf

The Reds are on the brink of being eliminated from their third and final season-long cup competition this campaign. Speaking after the game, the German tactician told beIN Sports (h/t RousingTheKop):

"We wanted to win the game and we lost it 5-2. How can you think no problem? Nobody thinks that. But a defeat is only a defeat if you don’t learn from it properly.

“And if we don’t learn tonight that the first half was outstanding, apart from two moments, then we are dumb to be honest. That’s what we have to keep on doing. We will learn from it and go again."

Liverpool's next assignment is an away league game against Crystal Palace on 25 February.