Andoni Iraola Wins First Champions League Game | OneFootball

Atlético Madrid have long felt like a thorn in the side of Liverpool, mainly because of the style of play that Diego Simeone likes to get them playing. The truth is a little different, given the fact that we became the first team in Champions League history to beat them four times in a row last night, but it certainly feels as though they’ve been an awkward encounter for us more than once.

It very much had the feel of being a potential banana skin for Andoni Iraola, who has never taken charge of a Champions League tie before, but the Spaniard came through it with flying colours.

Showing Resilience

If you want a remarkable stat, then try this one on for size: the result against Atlético was the first time since October last year that Liverpool have come from behind to win a football game. That says plenty about the fragile mental state that the players were in in the wake of the death of Diogo Jota last summer, but it also suggests that the players on the pitch are rediscovering the sort of resilience that led to Jürgen Klopp referring to his team as ‘mentality monsters’.

In years gone by, going 1-0 down to Simeone’s Atlético Madrid was close to being ‘game over’, but the Spanish coach has started to let the shackles off his team in recent times. As a result, the match looked incredibly open from time to time last night, with both teams seemingly deciding that a midfield was for other people. It made for an exciting game to watch and also meant that we could break them down in a manner that hasn’t been an option in years gone by, which is great news for our new head coach.

The two goals had plenty to like about them, from the flick that Ronald Araújo produced for the equaliser through to the thumping finish that Alexis Mac Allister pulled out of the bag for the winner. In fact, the Reds were so irresistible that not even the atrocious refereeing could stop us from picking up all three points in Andoni Iraola’s first foray into Europe’s elite competition. The good news is that Liverpool are only likely to get better as the coach gets his methods across to his players, which means that we can, at least for now, dream of big things to come this season.