Liverpool vs Atletico De Madrid

Incredible Champions League Match Sees Liverpool Take Control of Group B

Liverpool tackled Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano and came away with three crucial points in a match that you couldn't take your eyes off for one second.

Liverpool exploded out of the blocks and had a two-goal lead before fifteen minutes had even been played. They got their first through Mohamed Salah (surprise, surprise) as his shot from outside the box took a deflection off of James Milner and found its way into the back of the Atleti net. Liverpool had their second just minutes later when Naby Keita added to his growing portfolio of incredible strikes when he hit a sumptuous volley from outside the box to double the English side's lead.

Diego Simeone's side was never going to go down without a fight. Soon they had control of the match and their front two of Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann were causing Liverpool all types of issues in defense. Griezmann brought the home side back into the match in the 20th minute, before doubling his tally and equalling the scores in the 34th minute. Liverpool had to rely on some superb goalkeeping from Alisson Becker to keep them in the match. Momentum had completely swung and the Spaniards were unlucky not to be ahead come halftime.

The players would've been forgiven if the second half was a drab affair given the high-velocity pace of the first half. It was quite the opposite as Liverpool looked to wrestle back control from the kick-off in the second half. Momentum was handed to them in the 52nd minute when Antoine Griezmann was given a straight red card for a high boot on Roberto Firmino. There was no malice in it, but it was a red card by the letter of the law and the Frenchman was bemused but left without too many complaints.

If there's one side you don't want to face when they are down to ten men it is a Diego Simeone side. Not only did the capital city side look safe defensively, on occasion they seemed the more likely to score on the counterattack. But all their good work was undone by a silly Mario Hermoso foul on Diogo Jota in the penalty box. The referee had no hesitation as he pointed to the spot and Mohamed Salah promptly converted to restore the lead for the Reds.

Atleti thought they had their own penalty just minutes later only for the referee to overturn his initial decision after being sent to the pitch-side screen by VAR.

There was plenty of niggle in the final 15 minutes. Luis Suarez received a yellow card for dissent after giving the referee a mouthful for what he perceived as a foul on him by Virgil Van Dijk, but eventually, the whistle blew with the score at 3-2 and Liverpool had picked up a crucial 3 points away from home.

There was some tension between the two coaches as Diego Simeone ran down the tunnel without shaking hands with his counterpart Jurgen Klopp. Jurgen Klopp looked visibly annoyed on the sidelines as he shook hands with the rest of the Atleti coaching staff. When Klopp was asked about it in his post-match interview however he was unhappy and unloaded at the reporter.

Matchups between these two clubs and these two managers are always spicy affairs and when they meet at Anfield in two weeks' time expect it to be no different.

Elsewhere in the Champions League this morning Manchester City put 5 past Club Brugge, with an inspiring performance from academy graduate and England superstar Phil Foden. The result takes the Sky Blues to second place in their group. In the other match from that group, PSG felt the full Messi effect as the Argentine superstar scored twice for Les Parisiens to help them overcome a valiant RB Leipzig 3-2 and remain top of Group A.

Results

Club Brugge 1-5 Man City

Besiktas 1-4 Sporting Lisbon

PSG 3-2 RB Leipzig

Atletico de Madrid 2-3 Liverpool

Porto 1-0 AC Milan

Ajax 4-0 Borussia Dortmund

Shakhtar Donetsk 0-5 Real Madrid

Inter Milan 3-1 Sheriff Tiraspol

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a round-up of the Wednesday night fixtures in the UEFA Champions League and a complete look at how each group stands after 3 matches.

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