Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was left to rue defensive mistakes as his side lost 3-0 at home to Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
The Reds' 3-0 loss to the Spanish giants, the club's worst-ever home defeat in European competition, came after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a classy half-volley on 23 minutes before defensive lapses allowed Karim Benzema to net twice before half-time.
Liverpool looked very impressive in the opening stages of the Group B clash but were undone by some Ronaldo brilliance before failing to defend with enough vigour for the remainder of the opening 45 minutes which prompted the following words from Rodgers.
"I thought we made an excellent start for the first 20 minutes but after they got that first goal, they showed their quality," Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"In the second half we were playing for pride, the players kept going, they didn't stop - they were playing against a top-quality team.
"We defended poorly on one or two of the goals but I can't ask for any more - we probably needed to get a goal in that opening period.
"You can see Real's quality. Speed, technique; you can see why they are champions. The second and third goals are from set-pieces again, it's an issue for us and we have to be better than that.
"We'll look at it and learn but we were punished by a top-class side."
