90 min +3: Sterling and Manquillo fanny around deep in Real territory, down the right. Eventually the flag goes up for offside, and the chance to put one into the mixer is gone.

90 min +2: Bale puts the ball into the Liverpool net after a strong run down the right, but he was offside. Mignolet does that thing where he ostentatiously pretends to have known it all along.

90 min +1: The travelling support thunder out a defiant rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone.

90 min: Moreno, Toure, Coutinho, Gerrard and Allen triangulate prettily down the left, but it’s all too deep and Real are never in serious danger. There will be three added minutes of this.

88 min: A free kick for Liverpool in the centre circle. Gerrard pumps it forward. Toure battles for it, and earns a throw down the left. Allen and Moreno confuse each other at the throw, and all the pressure whistles off into the ether.

87 min: Tonight’s goalscoring hero Benzema is replaced by Hernandez. “A moral victory is the best kind,” opines Simon McMahon. “In the moral victory stakes, Dundee United FC have won four Scottish Cups and two European trophies.” You should see Basingstoke Town’s roll of honour in my mind’s eye.

85 min: Bale powers off on a run down the inside-right. Moreno matches him for pace, then panics and decides to upend him on the edge of the box. A no-brainer booking, as cynical as it comes. And kind of needless, for he was keeping up with Bale there. Bale takes the set piece himself, and whips one towards the top right. Mignolet punches clear, a fine save. “Can we just declare this a moral victory, and move on to the Chelsea game?” wonders Gar Byrne, who’ll be kicking himself for opening his mouth if Liverpool ship three late ones.

83 min: Erstwhile Liverpool defender Arbeloa is replaced by Nacho.

82 min: Mignolet drops a shoulder to dribble past Ronaldo (!) just outside his area. To say Liverpool hearts were in mouths there is the mother, father and extended family of all understatements. Still, what skill! That’ll be one to tell the grandkids.

81 min: Gerrard slides a ball down the inside-left channel for Lallana, who miscontrols but nearly frees Borini into the box nevertheless. Borini’s on the back foot, though, and can’t react to the half-chance.

80 min: Can has been replaced by Coutinho, by the way.

78 min: It’s Isco’s turn to prepare to shoot in the Liverpool box, to the left of goal having brought down a deep Ronaldo cross from the right. But Manquillo steps in to block. Marcelo eventually steers a weak shot wide right from the edge of the box.

76 min: Marcelo is booked for a fairly agricultural lunge on Sterling. No need for it, in the middle of the park with the winger going nowhere.

75 min: Borini busies himself around Ramos down the inside-right channel, makes away with the ball, and tucks it away in the Real net. But he’s penalised - rightly - for a shove on the Real defender.

74 min: Bale has a whack at goal from 25 yards. The ball balloons off Toure and out for a corner on the right. Kroos’s corner is met by Gerrard. Clear, but Real are coming back at Liverpool in double-quick time. Marcelo’s shot from the inside-left channel deflects off Skrtel. Another corner, on the left. Kroos, on the edge of the box, fires inches over the bar, a shot travelling at 349mph.

72 min: ... scoops a free kick straight at Mignolet, who should catch the ball despite its slight swerve, but punches clear instead. It’s enough, though. Real are beginning to look very dangerous again.

71 min: Marcelo down the left again. This time his low cross finds Bale, 12 yards out, level with the left-hand post. His rising sidefoot twangs the crossbar, middle C. Ronaldo picks up the loose ball, and is bundled over by Can, just to the left of the D. Ronaldo steps up, and ...

69 min: A double change for Liverpool, with Gerrard and Sterling coming on for Lucas and Markovic. One way or another, how this pans out will be interesting. It’s Basel 4, Ludogorets 1, by the way, if you allow me to use the old-school Guardian headline style.

68 min: Ronaldo has the ball at his feet in the Liverpool area. He drops a shoulder and looks to find the top right, but Toure comes across to block. Another corner, which Liverpool deal with. Seconds later, Marcelo’s romping down the left and fires a hard ball to the far post, where Benzema bangs over from close range. That would have looked very spectacular had it gone in. But it was a good chance, nevertheless.

65 min: Ramos slaps his hand into Borini’s coupon as the pair bustle around a static ball. It’s absolutely nothing, almost certainly accidental, though if you catch a referee on a bad day, well you’ve seen them given. A second yellow would have been a total outrage - Borini went down extremely theatrically - but Ramos should keep his hands down, just in case.

63 min: Can hoicks a long ball down the middle for Borini. The Liverpool striker is ahead of the Real back line, but a yard offside. Not even a yard. The correct decision, but pretty close. Who knew Brendan Rodgers was a fan of Charles Reep?

62 min: Sort of. Borini takes, looking for the top right. His effort, not brilliant, pings off Modric’s back and out on the left. The resulting corner comes to nothing. And then Real make the first change of the evening, swapping Rodriguez for Bale.

60 min: Ramos is booked for sliding through Borini just outside the Real D, Liverpool having put a few passes together in the Real half. Can Liverpool make something from this free kick, the best part of 30 yards from goal?

59 min: Another free kick for Real, out on the right. Rodriguez finds the head of Ronaldo, but he’s under pressure from Toure and sends the ball miles over the bar.

58 min: Moreno, determined in attack, slides a pass down the left channel for Lallana, who on the edge of the box has his back to goal, turns, and fires a low effort just wide of the right-hand post. A decente effort, though Casillas almost certainly had it covered.

56 min: Moreno, making good down the left, whistles a low shot down Casillas’s throat from 25 yards. Never beating the keeper, but that’s keeping Casillas honest at least. Speaking of which, he’s just grabbed a long upfield hoof, right on the edge of his box. A suggestion he handled outside the area there.

55 min: Arbeola flicks a ball past Moreno. It smacks into his hand, hanging limply by his side. That’s another free kick in a dangerous position, this time just outside the box on the right. Rodriguez takes. Can, having quickly learned from Toure (52 mins), blooters clear. It’s been a bit backs-to-the-wall at times, but Liverpool have defended pretty well this evening. So far.

53 min: Markovic goes on a determined meander down the inside-right channel. He draws a challenge from Rodriguez, who upends him from behind. That’s a yellow card.

52 min: Benzema has a whack from 20 yards, just to the right of goal. His shot is blocked. Markovic attempts to clear with an insouciant wand-like flick of his leg. Can tries a clever header. Toure thinks “bugger this”, and puts his foot through it. Blooter. Marvellous.

50 min: Lucas plants his studs on Benzema’s instep. That looked accidental, but a sore one. A wee pause in play. The action hasn’t quite been breathless since the restart, but Real have been stroking it around quite a lot, and Liverpool are having trouble keeping possession.

49 min: Real Madrid have come out on the front foot. Ronaldo tries to sidefoot into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box. Mignolet smothers, but only after making a holy show of himself in spilling a ball he should have gathered first time.

48 min: Ronaldo belts a fairly lame free kick straight at Lucas, who blocks. The ball’s lumped back in the area, for Varane to head wide right.

47 min: Ronaldo opens his legs and makes off down the left. Skrtel slides in, upending him Smalling-style just outside the area. That’s a no-brainer booking. And this is a free kick in an extremely dangerous position, on the left-hand corner of the box. Ronaldo and Rodriguez stand over it.

Half-time entertainment:

May I refer anyone in need of cheering up to the brass lick just before the second verse. Oh, and our fine Gallery of tonight’s action in the Bernabeu.

45 min: Moreno powers down the left and whips a low ball along the corridor of uncertainty. That’s a fine cross. Moreno has been excellent in this half.

43 min: Rodriguez takes a belt from 20 yards, cutting in from the right, after Isco fired a low, dangerous ball straight through the Liverpool box from the left.

41 min: Some determined, pesky play by Moreno, bustling about on the edge of the Real area after Manquillo breaks down the right. He feeds Can, who reaches the byline and has team-mates in the middle. But Can overhits his cross, a 7-iron instead of a delicate sand wedge. Real didn’t look particularly stable there, though, and for a second it nearly opened up for Moreno to take a shot. The full backs in highly advanced areas there; if nothing else, Liverpool are showing ambition in attack, even if Casillas has had nothing to do yet.

39 min: Modric sends a bouncing bomb down the middle of the park. Ronaldo is clear of Skrtel and Toure, but can’t control the ball as it loops away from his outstretched leg. If he’d taken that down, it was 2-0. Soon after, Lucas is giving the ball away cheaply, and Mignolet is required to parry a stinging Benzema shot from the left of the D.

38 min: Basel have taken the lead in the other group game, Breel Embolo giving the Swiss a 34th-minute lead against Ludogorets.

36 min: Varane curls a ball over the Liverpool back line from the right touchline, by the centre circle. It’s dropping for Benzema, who’s ahead of Toure and Skrtel. Toure sticks out a leg and lifts the ball over the bar. For a second it looks like looping over the stranded Mignolet and into the top left, but it’s a well-judged intervention. Once again, the corner comes to naught.

34 min: Lucas tugs Isco’s arm, 30 yards from goal, level with the left-hand post. That’ll be a free kick, and one which Ronaldo will be pelting with extreme prejudice towards goal. Tok! A fine effort is whistled towards the top-left corner. It dips a little before it reaches the goal, and Mignolet punches clear.

33 min: Ronaldo, Benzema and Rodriguez play the pretty triangles, left to right along the front of the Liverpool box. Rodriguez takes a whack, but Toure blocks. Liverpool attempt to break, Lucas again firing a long one for Markovic to chase. Ramos snuffs out the danger.

31 min: Borini, with no support, bustles away down the left. He’s eventually clipped to the floor by Arbeloa, perhaps looking to do his old club a favour. This will be a free kick just to the left of the Real box. Lallana whips the set piece in, but it’s cleared with ease by Ramos. “Mario Balotelli has been utterly useless so far,” blasts Sean Kelly. “It’s impossible to tell if he is even on the pitch! If he made some more effort then maybe Real Madrid wouldn’t have so much joy up the left, through the middle and down the right.” Satire, ladies and gentlemen. It’s like the BBC never took TW3 off the air.

29 min: Liverpool started reasonably well at Anfield, too. They’ll need to keep it tight this time. They’ve not seen much of the ball since giving it away rather cheaply at the restart.

25 min: Moreno, Lallana and Can triangulate down the left. It’s a clever period of possession for Liverpool, who probe patiently until something opens up, which it eventually does for Allen. But Allen doesn’t burst down the channel and into the box with any confidence, and his timid ball into the centre is easily blocked, then cleared, by Varane. I can’t quite work out Joe Allen.

23 min: Kolo Toure shows he’s not just about the tricky wingplay, throwing himself in front of a Ronaldo shot, hammered from 25 yards. Fine last-ditch defending.

21 min: Moreno goes on a magnificent swerving run from his left back position, inside the field, then back to the wing. He’s dumped on his arse by the halfway line. Thirty seconds or so later, Toure drops a shoulder and channels his inner Garrincha, skating past Benzema and then Rodriguez down the left wing. Neither move goes anywhere, but Liverpool have clearly turned up with a view to enjoying themselves. While they can, at the very least. Wonderfully entertaining runs by the Liverpool defenders.

19 min: It’s an open, fun game, this one. Ronaldo drops a shoulder and enters the Liverpool area down the left. He fizzes a low shot towards the near post, where Mignolet gathers calmly. The keeper is soon out again to punch an Isco cross from the left miles clear.

17 min: It nearly opens up for Liverpool on the break, Lucas flicking a ball down the middle for Markovic, who decides to take on last man Varane in a foot race. He nearly bursts clear, but the Real defender is made of the proper stuff, keeps on Markovic’s shoulder, and eventually barges his man off the ball.

16 min: Ronaldo nearly diddles Skrtel down the left, but has to settle for a corner. Skrtel makes up by battering a clearing header 50 yards upfield. The home side are beginning to get into the groove, though, and are soon coming at Liverpool again, Benzema and Rodriguez causing all sorts of bother down the right. Liverpool swarm around them to eventually hack clear.

14 min: Mignolet, who has had pelters directed at him all season, has started this match well. Now he’s coming off his line with confidence - note the date and time - to claim a Marcelo cross from the left.

12 min: A raking right-to-left ball by Can very nearly releases Borini down the channel. Varane stretches his neck muscles and heads back upfield. Meanwhile here’s Matt Dony: “Ultimately, I’m more concerned about Andy Townsend’s commentary than I am about any potential tonking.” You’ll not read wiser words tonight. You’ll certainly not hear them.

10 min: And after that bright start for Liverpool, Real Madrid should be ahead. Skrtel stands on the ball, 20 yards from his own goal, just to the left of the D. Benzema robs him and lays off inside for Ronaldo, whose rising shot from the edge of the area is tipped away from trouble by Mignolet. Again, the resulting corner comes to nothing.

9 min: Clear and vocal support for Brendan Rodgers from the Liverpool fans. Markovic goes on a romp down the right and feeds Manquillo, whose cross is dealt with by Ramos. The away side are firmly on the front foot right now.

6 min: Can, Allen, Lallana and Moreno exchange passes down the inside-left channel as Liverpool advance. Markovic considers a shot from the edge of the box, but tries to feed Borini, who is crowded out. This is a fairly uptempo start from the visitors. The travelling fans are doing their best to turn up a little heat on Real, who have started fairly slowly. Apart from the time they, er, nearly scored, but the point stands: Liverpool look bright so far.

4 min: Real Madrid get their ball back. Benzema, to the left of the Liverpool D, slips it inside for Rodriguez, for whom it opens up. He aims for the top right, but Mignolet, at full stretch, palms away for a corner. Fine shot, fine save. The corner comes to nothing. “Am I the only one who thinks that 16-1 for Liverpool is worth a punt?” asks Simon McMahon. “Yeah, thought so.”

2 min: Liverpool knock it around the back awhile, in the grand 1981 style. The away fans are giving it plenty. “We are Liverpool, la la la la la,” they chant. It’s difficult to tell whether this is acid comment on the team selection. It’s certainly defiant. As is Liverpool’s performance in the opening exchanges; they’ve hogged the ball.

The teams are out! Real Madrid are in their famous merengue kit, while Liverpool sport their equally iconic all-red clobber. Brendan Rodgers, meanwhile, has been justifying his selection: “I’ll be surprised if fans are disappointed. We’ve got a strong team out, we’re certainly not forfeiting it. The last game we won was against Swansea, and a lot of these players played in that. Our form is nowhere near what it’s been in the last 18 months, so our best team right now would be hard to pick. After the game tonight, we focus on Chelsea.”

Pre-match chit-chat, as several of our readers consider the Liverpool starting XI and adopt the brace position:

• “Brendan Rodgers has just broken his putter over his knee forgetting that he’s only on the 6th hole” - Niall Mullen
  
• “Maybe Manquillo has the potential to be better than Arbeloa. That’s all I’ve got” - Jesse Davies
  
• “Surely the one thing history, if not the songs sung at most Premier League grounds, teaches us is that if you’re going to rest Stevie G from one game out of two, the game against Chelsea has to be the one” - Steve Cook
  
• “This is going to be a cricket score! It’s just gone 2pm here in Cincinnati and I’m ready to raid the drinks cabinet” - Jonny Mac
  
• “I’ve got the fear” - Paul Ewart
  
• “What’s the point in managing a football team if you don’t even dare to dream?” - Ben Simmons
  
• “Rodgers will get pilloried for his selection, and the pretense is that he’s saving his ‘important’ players for the weekend in the league, but is there a case for actually dropping those players rather than resting them? Given the way that many of them have performed recently would they have been more likely to avoid a hammering than the XI that have been chosen?” - David Wall
  
• “Normally, against the most difficult opponents, I will try to go with my best team” - Jose Mourinho, who has been on the talk, with specific reference to Rodgers’ selection tonight. We know this because he’s said “I don’t speak about Liverpool.”

The official team sheets aren’t in yet, but we do know the Liverpool starting XI. Here it is! Mignolet, Manquillo, Toure, Skrtel, Moreno, Lucas, Can, Allen, Lallana, Markovic, Borini. A distinctly League Cup flavour, some would argue, with star men Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho, Mario Balotelli and Jordan Henderson on the bench. And Brad Jones. And Glen Johnson. But look at it another way: Kolo Toure has been part of a defence to leave the Bernabeu with a win, alongside erstwhile Arsenal colleagues Philippe Senderos, Emmanuel Eboue and Mathieu Flamini back in 2006. So anything’s possible. And this starting XI did cost £112.5m, to be fair.

We all remember last month at Anfield. No need to pick at open sores.

Liverpool go into this fixture bruised by that 3-0 lesson Real Madrid taught them a fortnight ago. They’re woefully out of form having just drawn with Hull, scraped past Swansea and lost at Newcastle. And they’re best priced at 9-1 for the win, 12-1 in some places, which must surely be a first in a one-off rubber for this famous old giant of European football.

Real meanwhile are now 11 wins on the bounce in all competitions, having scored 46 goals along the way while conceding only seven. Ronaldo has scored 17 of those goals on his own, having only failed to find the net in one game during the run, and that’s because he wasn’t playing in it. At the weekend, he set up a goal with a defence-splitting backheel, very much the John Barnes de nos jours, as Evertonians would be able to attest.

It’s not looking promising for Liverpool, but what’s the point going into a fixture without hope? So here’s some!

1. Liverpool won their last game at the Bernabeu, a 1-0 win in 2009, Yossi Benayoun the 82nd-minute hero in that one.
   
2. Real Madrid, rather oddly, don’t have a particularly good record at home against English clubs in Europe. As well as being beaten by Liverpool in the Champions League, in the past they’ve lost in the same competition against Arsenal (2006), been knocked out in the European Cup semi-finals by Manchester United (1968), and been held in the Uefa Cup by the likes of Tottenham Hotspur (1985) and Ipswich Town (1973). Overall, they’ve won six, drawn five, and lost two.
   
3. Real might decide to rest a few players tonight and go easy.
   
4. The £85m winger Gareth Bale might be back, though.
   
5. Real’s home record against English teams isn’t so bad that they haven’t battered Derby County 5-1 (1972 European Cup), Manchester United 3-1 (2003 Champions League) and Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 (2011 Champions League).
   
6. We should have left it at 3.

But if the worst happens, Liverpool can take succour in history. Their biggest statistical loss in European competition came in 1966, when Bill Shankly’s side, riding high on the Merseybeat sound, were trounced 5-1 in the European Cup by emerging cult rock’n’roll stars Johan Cruyff & the Ajax. Shanks was so enraged by his team’s inept showing that, under cover of thick fog, he strode onto the pitch mid-match and delivered a mighty bollocking. However that was nothing compared to the tactical masterclass Red Star Belgrade put on at Anfield in the European Cup in 1973. Only a 2-1 loss, but the Yugoslav’s patient possession-based game stirred assistant manager Bob Paisley’s mojo, and would prove a massive influence on Liverpool’s golden age, only a few seasons down the line. Another such process might do Liverpool no end of good in the long run. A scrappy 1-0 win would be far preferable, of course, but we’re just trying to cover all possibilities here.

Judgement hour: 8.45pm in Madrid, 7.45pm in Liverpool. It’s on!