Van Dijk heads late winner as Liverpool beat Atletico in Champions League thriller | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Champions League return to Anfield ended in a way that has become almost typical of them: late drama, raw emotion, and just enough luck to get over the line.

They should never have needed Virgil van Dijk’s 92nd-minute winner to see off Atletico Madrid. With two goals inside the opening six minutes, it looked like the night would be straightforward.

Instead, the crowd found themselves dragged through every possible mood before celebrating a stoppage-time release.

The early surge had carried a familiar stamp. Mohamed Salah’s free-kick, diverted in via Andy Robertson, was the kind of chaotic opener that unsettles opponents instantly.

His second, a slick exchange with Ryan Gravenberch and a composed finish under Jan Oblak, was pure class. With Anfield bouncing and Diego Simeone’s men rocking, Liverpool seemed set for a comfortable win.

But Atletico are rarely straightforward opponents. Marcos Llorente pulled one back on the stroke of half-time, punishing a lapse in concentration. Suddenly, the control Liverpool had built slipped into uncertainty.

Alexander Isak, making his debut, worked tirelessly but understandably faded before being replaced just before the hour. He offered glimpses of why he was brought in but, without a full pre-season, his sharpness is still some way off.

Liverpool kept pushing. Salah should have buried a third but struck the post. Florian Wirtz floated between lines, Gravenberch stormed through midfield, yet the final touch was missing.

And the punishment came. Llorente, who has previous for spoiling European nights at Anfield, volleyed in an equaliser with a deflection off Alexis Mac Allister to silence the Kop.

By then the tension was unbearable. Atletico sensed Liverpool’s familiar frailties with two-goal leads. The champions of England, for all their attacking brilliance, still lack the calmness to put games to bed.

Then came the corner, the roar, and the towering header. Van Dijk, the captain, delivered the escape route once more, reminding everyone that for all the chaos, Liverpool have leaders who still thrive on the edge of collapse.

The sight of Simeone raging on the touchline before being dismissed only underlined how much it had taken from both teams. Liverpool staggered, bent, nearly broke, but in the end they won again.

It was not perfect, and Arne Slot will know it cannot keep happening like this. But Anfield has long lived for these sorts of finales, and Liverpool once again made the improbable feel inevitable.