ليفربول stormed into a 2-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes through Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah. With the hosts seemingly in control, Atletico fought back, led by Marcos Llorente, whose goals in first-half stoppage time and the 81st minute brought the game level at 2-2. However, just as it looked like Atletico had done enough, Van Dijk broke free from his marker to score from a set piece, securing all three points for Liverpool at Anfield.
Llorente expressed his frustration about the match, saying: “It’s a shame because we didn’t stop believing, we tried until the end. They’re a great team, here at home too. We lost our marker from a corner and they scored a great goal.
“We can’t come out the way we did, with two goals in six minutes. The game is going to be very difficult, but we’ve shown that if we’re together, with clear ideas, we can fight any team. We proved that today. It didn’t count for anything, so let’s be ready for the next one.”
Llorente stressed Liverpool’s first two goals were the most important to look at, adding of the winning goal: “Van Dijk is a great finisher, he’s very strong and can pass.”
The match ended on an ugly note as Atletico manager Diego Simeone was sent off following an altercation with Liverpool fans. After the game, Simeone admitted his reaction was not justified but insisted he had been on the receiving end of insults throughout the match.
Llorente will hope that Atletico and Simeone will be able to work on their defending and get a positive result when they take on مايوركا in La Liga on Sunday.
