Real Madrid overcame a 2-goal deficit to win over Liverpool in their Champions League round-of-16 first leg at Anfield on Tuesday night as both Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema netted a pair of goals in a 5-2 rout.

A riveting first half saw Liverpool jump out to a two-goal lead with a fabulous flicked-on finish from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah's strike from close range after a blatant fluff by Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois.

The visitors halved the deficit before the half-hour through Vinicius, who cut to his right in the penalty area and curled a perfect, low shot past Alisson to make it 2-1.

Later on, Madrid restored parity as a shocking ball from Liverpool’s goalie led to Madrid's second, when Alisson mishit his pass which bounced off Vinicius who looped up over the Liverpool keeper and rolled into the net to level the score before the break.

Despite the slow start, early second-half goals from Eder Militao and Benzema staked Madrid to a shocking 4-2 lead before the hour mark, hushing the Anfield crowd and leaving Jurgen Klopp looking perplexed on the sidelines.

Benzema netted his second to finish off a sleek counter-attack from Madrid, the France forward picking up a pass from Vinicius, sliding to his left past an onrushing Alisson and burying a shot in the upper left corner.

Real Madrid have all-but-eliminated Liverpool, who conceded five goals in the Champions League for the first time in club history, from the competition ahead of the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 15.