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Liverpool defeated Villarreal 4-3 in the UEFA Champions League on October 20, 2026. Alexis Mac Allister scored twice, while Florian Wirtz ended his goal drought with a late strike.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
Liverpool secured a 4-3 victory over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The win marks Liverpool's third consecutive victory in the competition's league phase. The match featured seven goals and a significant turnaround after Liverpool fell behind 0-2 early in the first half.
Villarreal opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Georges Mikautadze, who capitalized on a header by Virgil van Dijk. Sergi Cardona extended the lead to 0-2 in the 29th minute. Liverpool responded before halftime, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring a header from a corner in the 36th minute. Ronald Araujo equalized in the second minute of first-half stoppage time (45+2').
In the second half, Mac Allister scored his second goal in the 65th minute to give Liverpool a 3-2 lead. Florian Wirtz, who entered the match as a substitute, scored the fourth goal for Liverpool. Sky Sports reports this goal occurred in the 68th minute, while Yahoo Sports lists it as the 69th minute. Villarreal's Tani Oluwaseyi scored in the 87th minute to make the final score 4-3.
Florian Wirtz, the German international who joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 for approximately 125 million euros, had not scored for the club since April. Bild reports that Wirtz began the match on the bench and entered in the second half. He scored with a left-footed finish, ending a months-long scoring drought. In his first season with Liverpool, Wirtz recorded seven goals and eight assists in 49 competitive matches.
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola managed the squad with notable absences. Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong were ruled out due to muscle injuries sustained in a previous match against Brentford. Ryan Gravenberch returned from suspension to start in midfield.
Villarreal, managed by Íñigo Pérez, started with Péter Gulácsi in goal. Gulácsi previously sat on Liverpool's first-team bench 51 times without making a competitive appearance. The match preview from Oddschecker noted that Villarreal had won only once in six away games during the season prior to this fixture.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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