Real Madrid vs. Liverpool Results, Scores, Highlights: Cristiano Ronaldo Flexes Muscle Prior to Clasico vs. Barcelona

By David Salazar First Posted: Oct 23, 2014 01:07 PM EDT

Real Madrid continued its scintillating form by embarrassing Liverpool at Anfield Wednesday.

It was night of great anticipation as many expected the English side to put up a fight at home. It was a test for both sides.

Would Madrid make up for its poor performance in Bulgaria a few weeks ago? Would Liverpool prove that it is ready to take on the big boys? Both questions were answered resoundingly.

Here is what both teams showed:

Cristiano Ronaldo Continues Brilliance

He had never scored at Anfield. And there was a great a lot talk of how he struggled against Liverpool while a member of Manchester United. But there he was, Real Madrid's number seven, running onto a perfectly-placed volley from James Rodriguez and firing it past Simon Mignolet, who really had no chance on the play.

And that was not all.

Ronaldo was everywhere on the pitch, running in deep to help with the team's terrific tiki taka display. He had 76 touches on the night, a lot more than usual from him -- and he was subbed off early -- and was a huge contributor throughout the night.

He might have only scored one goal on the night -- too little considering his standards and recent form -- but this was one of the more complete performances from Ronaldo this season.

Toni Kroos, Isco, Raphael Varane & Karim Benzema Shine

Ronaldo was arguably not the top player on the pitch, by the way. And to single out anyone else is a bit unfair when one considers just how well Los Blancos played against Liverpool. They barely allowed the home fans to enjoy anything outside of the game's opening 15 minutes. But some players were mesmerizing to say the least.

In the midfield, Isco and Kroos looked sharp with their passing. Kroos completed 98 percent of his passes while obtaining an assist and made carving Liverpool's defense in half look easy. Isco was tremendous offensively, but also running back to help retrieve the ball from Liverpool's offense. Varane was solid on defense with four interceptions and six clearances (Pepe had 10 and added an assist), but his steadiness at the back has made it clear that he Madrid's most responsible central defender.

Finally, Karim Benzema added two goals and seems to be warming up on the season.

Mario Balotelli Experiment Continues to Fail

When Luis Suarez left over the summer, everyone knew that Liverpool would struggle. So Brendan Rodgers went out and brought in a number of players to pick up the slack. He was hoping for a performance by committee approach. And he also brought in Mario Balotelli, with the hopes that the enigmatic Italian would turn into a superstar in England.

Balotelli is neither at the moment. He is far from a superstar and he is no longer an enigma; he is just poor. The Italian lacked any sort of presence the entire night and finished with 23 touches on the night. But most importantly, he showed a lack of maturity when he decided to trade shirts with Pepe at the half and the score at 3-0. It was a sign of defeat. It was as if in his mind, the game was over. His time with the team might be coming to an end.

Liverpool Defense is Woeful

The forwards were not doing much and the midfield looked sterile in its possession game. In fact, Madrid taught them quite the masterclass in how to play possession properly.

But the defense was a disaster. None of those goals should have happened. Yes, Ronaldo was brilliant on his run and, yes, Benzema's header was terrific. But Ronaldo's run was rather predictable and yet defenders Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel opted for ball-watching on the play. Ditto for the Benzema goal, a cross from outside the box that could have been dealt with. The third goal, off a corner, was a display of atrocious defending. The ball hit off Pepe awkwardly and bounced past the entire defense to a candid Benzema, who only needed to poke it in.

Mignolet had some good saves throughout, but he was also dreadful on the third goal and continues to struggle with Liverpool this season. The man at the other end, Iker Casillas, looked far sharper and if rumors are true, he could be taking Mignolet's place as soon as January.