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2 hours ago
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It should have been a lot easier than this for Liverpool but the 92nd-minute roar to celebrate Virgil van Dijk’s winner against Atlético Madrid made the hardship worthwhile.
After scoring twice in the opening six minutes through Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool were galloping to victory but were pegged back by two goals from Marcos Llorente, only for their captain to head home a late corner and send Anfield wild in the process.
Many expected Alexander Isak’s first experience of being a Liverpool player at Anfield to begin on the bench but Arne Slot gave him a debut from the start, eager to see how long he would last, suggesting an hour would be his maximum. Without a pre-season under his belt, Isak had played barely 20 minutes since May, those coming in a 2-0 loss for Sweden against Kosovo. The striker’s quality is unquestionable; the debate was over his sharpness.
Diego Simeone’s side arrived with a solitary win in four La Liga games to their name and, potentially influenced by Burnley, sat deep in an attempt to frustrate Liverpool. The Argentinian tried to make things difficult for the hosts with a traditional 4-4-2 formation, making Conor Gallagher the only English starter in the two teams in central midfield.
Discipline is all well and good but that plan went out the window when Ryan Gravenberch was clumsily tripped on the edge of the box. Mohamed Salah smashed hard and low, firing the shot against Robertson’s calf, which deceived Jan Oblak and sent an already raucous Anfield delirious in the fourth minute.
It knocked Atlético off their stride and boosted Liverpool’s confidence. If there was more than a hint of luck in the first goal, the second dripped with quality. Once again Gravenberch was key, exchanging passes with Salah, sending the Egyptian into the box, where he took an exquisite touch and slotted under Oblak. With fewer than six minutes on the clock, it felt like the game was over. It was the quickest Liverpool had achieved a two-goal lead in their European history.
The ball fizzed around between red shirts as Liverpool repeatedly stretched the Atlético midfield and backline. Salah twice came close to adding to the scoreline but Atlético were allowed to cling on. Considering Liverpool have left it late in their four league victories thus far, this felt like a welcome change inside Anfield as tension and nerves were alleviated.
Liverpool did not need any help but the referee, Maurizio Mariani, tried to give a penalty for a phantom handball, supposedly committed by Clément Lenglet when Jeremie Frimpong’s cross hit his stomach. The Italian seemed convinced but a word in his ear resulted in a trip to the monitor to rescind his original decision.
Atlético had looked dangerous down the right and put in a number of problematic crosses but without the injured Julián Alvarez they lacked a sharpened finisher. It required a toe-poked shot from the full-back Marcos Llorente to reduce the deficit in first-half injury time.
Isak’s involvement was limited, his most notable action coming when Robin Le Normand’s studs caught him on top of the foot. The centre-back was booked for his recklessness, while Isak was given treatment and a few moments of rest to get his breath back. He received a huge roar when he got to his feet; the fans are desperate for a heroic new No 9. He returned for the second half but looked tired and shook hands with his replacement Hugo Ekitiké in the 58th minute.
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Simeone had to offer freedom to his players in attack while continuing to hunt Liverpool to keep the pressure up when out of possession. Buoyed by the goal, they returned to the pitch confident, but the hosts offered greater intent as Salah thrived and Wirtz found pockets of space in which to work.
For all the endeavour, the final pass was lacking from both sides as the minutes ticked down. Oblak accepted he could do nothing when Dominik Szoboszlai burst through the middle; it seemed the Hungarian would shoot himself, only for Wirtz to get in the way. The ball went to an unmarked Salah but he hit the post.
The tension returned from the ether as Liverpool missed chances to finish. Matters were not calmed when Llorente fired just over from 20 yards after a mazy run to remind Liverpool they were very much in a game.
Warnings were not heeded and Llorente, who had been promoted from full-back to central midfield, watched a looping ball land perfectly on his foot and volleyed in from 20 yards. If Liverpool enjoyed good fortune with the opener, it was Atlético’s turn as Alexis Mac Allister deflected the shot beyond Alisson to deflate the home supporters, while one small corner grew louder with a draw in sight. But Van Dijk popped up to settle matters late on, much to Simeone’s annoyance, as he was sent off for his various protestations.
