Spanish giant Real Madrid and English powerhouse Liverpool aim to bounce back after domestic setbacks over the weekend, with Real Madrid visiting Kazakhstan’s newly promoted Kairat Almaty and Liverpool facing Turkey’s Galatasaray tomorrow Tuesday in the second group stage round of the UEFA Champions League.

Real Madrid enters their match in Almaty with shaken morale following a humiliating 5-2 home defeat to local rivals Atlético Madrid last Saturday, allowing Barcelona to overtake them at the top of the league. This was their second loss in 14 matches across all competitions under new coach Xabi Alonso.

Alonso admitted his team deserved the heavy defeat, saying, “We did not play well as a team, nor in pressing, we were not at the required level.”

He added, “We are in a building phase, and today (Saturday) was our first loss. We must learn from what happened, but no excuses, we are hurt. It’s a derby match and a deserved defeat.”

After the tough journey to Almaty, hosting Real Madrid’s first-ever match against a Kazakh team, Alonso hopes his players can catch their breath and prepare mentally and physically to try for a second win in this edition of the continental competition, after their first victory over French side Marseille 2-1 in a match they finished with ten men following the sending off of captain Dani Carvajal.

For Kairat, whose players celebrated being drawn against the record 15-time continental champions, the challenge will be very tough as shown by their first match, a 4-1 home loss to Portuguese side Sporting.

Like the Spanish giant, Liverpool seeks to regain balance after a painful 2-1 defeat last Saturday in the Premier League against Crystal Palace, conceding a late goal in stoppage time.

Liverpool began their title defense campaign with five consecutive wins but fell to cup holders Palace after thinking they had salvaged a point in the 87th minute through Italian substitute Federico Chiesa, only to be stunned by Eddie Nketiah’s winner for the home side in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Liverpool’s Dutch coach, Arne Slot, acknowledged his team “deserved” the loss, which comes during a difficult period as the Galatasaray away game is far from easy, followed by two tough Premier League matches at Chelsea and then against Manchester United.

Liverpool started their continental campaign with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Atlético Madrid thanks to a last-minute goal by Dutchman Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool hopes to avoid a repeat of their last visit to Galatasaray’s fortress when they lost 3-2 in the group stage of the same competition in December 2006, the last meeting between the two teams who drew in 2002 in the same round, in addition to Liverpool’s 2-1 home win in 2006 before losing the return leg in Istanbul.

Tuesday’s matches in the second round of the Champions League group stage.