In the game which had Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos sent off, Kevin De Bruyne kept his cool to beat Belgium team mate Thibaut Courtois from the penalty kick spot.

His goal in the 82nd minute gave Manchester City the lead, after Gabriel Jesus had headed home a cross from De Bruyne to pull the visitors level in the 78th minute.

Isco had given Real Madrid the lead on the hour mark following a sweeping counter-attack, but the 13-times European champions’ night soon unraveled.

It culminated in Ramos being sent off for hauling down Jesus in a bid to prevent a third Manchester City goal.

Ramos will be suspended for the second leg at the Etihad Stadium on March 17.

Manchester City’s influential defender Aymeric Laporte was forced off injured in the first half, another setback in a season marked by fitness troubles.

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Goals by Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane put Liverpool three goals up before Bernardo Silva’s 78th-minute effort provoked a late City siege.

“You saw in the last 10 or 15 minutes when City scored the goal it gave them mental belief and from that moment they controlled the game,” Klopp, whose side have an eight-point lead over Leicester City and Chelsea, said.

“But the other 70 minutes we controlled the game with our intensity and didn’t let them do what they wanted. If that was so easy a lot more teams would try it, but the boys put in an incredible shift again.”

Klopp, whose side are now unbeaten in 29 Premier League games, said all three goals were “incredible”.

“That’s what you need on a day like this. You have to score special goals against them, and you have to defend with your heads which is what we did,” he said.

“I don’t know many ways to beat City but if we want to do it we have to do it with intensity and with forcing them into our game and that’s what the boys did today.”

Klopp said he could understand opposite number Pep Guardiola’s frustration with the opening goal when Fabinho lashed home on the counter-attack after Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared to have handled in his own area.

“I didn’t see it,” he said. “People told me it hit Bernardo Silva’s hand then Trent’s. If Bernardo had scored with his hand it would have been disallowed, wherever the hand was.

“I understand how disappointed they are, we would feel exactly the same, 100 percent. But on the other hand the reaction we showed seconds later in front of their box.”

While admitting Liverpool were now in new territory with such a lead, Klopp said they might need every point.

“Each point we have we need to go through the most intense period ever,” he said.

Alexander-Arnold described the win as a “massive three points” while fellow full back Andy Robertson said the opening goal had been crucial to the outcome.

“We didn’t start the best. I think they had two corners inside the first minute so it was always going to be an important factor,” he said.

“Now it’s all about keeping it in perspective. We’ll see where we are after Christmas and the busy period coming up.”

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Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, preferred by Pep Guardiola to Sergio Aguero in attack, opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a deft close-range finish after a scorching burst and low cross from Kyle Walker.

Sterling made it 2-0, six minutes after the interval, with a cool finish after Kevin De Bruyne had burst from midfield and fed the England forward.

Jesus then became the first player to have a goal disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the Premier League when, in the 53rd minute, he finished off Sterling’s pass following a fine move.

However, the VAR adjudged that Sterling was marginally offside as he ran into the box.

VAR, making its debut this season, was used again to review and eventually validate Sterling’s second, when he collected a lofted ball into the box and lobbed West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

The video staff were busy again in the 84th minute when City were awarded a penalty for Issa Diop’s foul on Riyad Mahrez.

Substitute Aguero’s soft penalty was saved but VAR ruled that Declan Rice was encroaching into the box and referee Mike Dean ordered a re-take — which the Argentine scored before Sterling completed his hat-trick in stoppage time.

Last season’s runners-up Liverpool began their campaign with a 4-1 win over Norwich City at Anfield on Friday, but City’s emphatic victory was another sign that we could be in for a repeat neck-and-neck battle between the leading pair.

The result was City’s eighth successive win in competitive matches against West Ham, in which time they have scored 28 goals and conceded four.

Guardiola was pleased with his team’s second half display but had some critical words for their performance in the opening 45 minutes.

“It was difficult away from home, 12:30 kick-off, hot. The first half was not good. We didn’t control second balls and lost a lot of balls,” said the Spaniard.

“It was important to get three points, a clean sheet. At 2-0, they have a chance. Overall for the first game it is an incredible result.

“The second half was much better. More calm, but still we have many things to improve.”

Guardiola said that the VAR decisions were a reminder of the need for a team to keep their cool in what are still unusual situations.

“You have to be mentally strong when VAR is not on your side. You think at 0-3 the game is almost over but at 0-2, the game is completely different.

“You have to be calm and be strong, it is going to change the dynamic not just for the team but for the spectators,” he said.

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They won 5-4, but it was after an absorbing contest which had finished 1-1 following 90 minutes of play.

Former Liverpool player Raheem Sterling gave the champions the lead in a first half they dominated as Liverpool’s sluggish pre-season form continued.

European champions Liverpool were far better in the second period.

They equalised through Joel Matip’s header and created a host of other chances to take the lead as Manchester City appeared to tire.

Manchester City’s Kyle Walker made a last-ditch goal line clearance from Mo Salah’s effort in the dying moments.

With no extra time being played, the showpiece went to a penalty kicks shootout.

Pep Guardiola’s side, who completed the domestic treble last season, claimed the silverware in the traditional curtain-raiser.

They converted all five of their penalty kicks in ruthless fashion, while Georginio Wijnaldum had his effort saved by Claudio Bravo.

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Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring at Eastlands before Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling netted after the interval to ensure City opened up a 14-point lead over second placed Manchester United, who face West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

Having set the Premier League record for successive wins in their midweek triumph at Swansea, Pep Guardiola’s side now have their manager’s personal bests in their sights.

City’s 16-match winning run in the league equals Guardiola’s second longest streak as a boss — with Barcelona in 2010-11 — and moves them within three of his career-high 19 successive victories with Bayern Munich in 2013-14.

With the title race turning into a lengthy coronation for City, it would be easy for the leaders to take their eye off the ball, but they were always in control against a Tottenham team who once again flopped in an away game against top-six opponents.

Germany midfielder Gundogan put City in front in the 14th minute with a stooping header from Leroy Sane’s cross.

De Bruyne made it two with a blistering finish from Gundogan’s pass in the 70th minute.

Gabriel Jesus squandered a chance to make it three when the City forward hit the post with a penalty awarded for Jan Vertonghen’s foul on De Bruyne.

But Sterling scored with an 80th minute tap-in and then punished a mistake by Tottenham’s Eric Dier to claim his 15th goal of the season.

Christian Eriksen’s stoppage-time goal for Tottenham couldn’t take the gloss off another City masterclass.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea beat Southampton 1-0 to stay 14 points behind City and draw level on points with United.

After a tame opening from the champions, Antonio Conte’s side finally opened the scoring in first-half stoppage-time.

Marcos Alonso provided the breakthrough, the Spanish wing-back curling a free-kick past flat-footed Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster from 35 yards.

Chelsea have won eight of their last 10 league matches, but City remain out of reach.

“When you do not score the second goal, you have to suffer. You are afraid at every corner and free-kick,” Conte said.

“We dominated the game, shooting 24 times, but we needed to score the second to be relaxed.”

At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal won for the first time in four league games to boost their bid to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish.

Heavily linked with a move to United when his contract expires at the end of the season, Ozil showcased his talents for any interested clubs when he put Arsenal ahead in the 23rd minute.

After an Alexis Sanchez shot deflected into Ozil’s path, the German midfielder smashed a superb volley past Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot from the edge of the area for his third goal of the season.

Newcastle’s eighth defeat in their last nine league games leaves Rafael Benitez’s side mired in relegation trouble.

“Ozil’s goal was a gem. It’s good that he scores important goals,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.

West Ham piled pressure on Stoke boss Mark Hughes with a 3-0 win in a match delayed by an hour after a power outage plunged parts of the bet365 Stadium into darkness before kick-off.

Mark Noble, Marko Arnautovic and Diafra Sakho scored for the visitors as West Ham climbed above Stoke into 15th place.

Brighton’s Glenn Murray missed a penalty in his team’s 0-0 draw against high-flying Burnley at the Amex Stadium.

Huddersfield thrashed Watford 4-1 to record their first away win since the opening day of the season.

Elias Kachunga and Aaron Mooy scored for Huddersfield before Watford’s Troy Deeney was sent off, making it three red cards in their last three games.

Laurent Depoitre bagged Huddersfield’s third before the visitors had Jonathan Hogg sent off.

Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure, but Mooy’s 89th-minute penalty wrapped up the points.

Christian Benteke’s first goal since May inspired Crystal Palace to their maiden away win of the season as 10-man Leicester were beaten 3-0 at the King Power Stadium.

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