Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Match Review – Champions League 2025/26: Salah’s Brilliance, Simeone’s Fury, Van Dijk’s Glory! | OneFootball

Anfield was built for nights like this. Under the glare of European floodlights, Liverpool and Atlético Madrid produced another epic encounter that had everything: blistering goals, high drama, simmering tension on the touchline, and yet another late twist that will echo in the memory of supporters long after the final whistle. The Kop trembled as Virgil van Dijk rose like a colossus to power home a stoppage-time header, ripping victory from Atlético’s grasp just when Diego Simeone thought his side had stolen a point. Marcos Llorente, Liverpool’s nemesis in 2020, had once again threatened to spoil the party with two goals that silenced Anfield. But in keeping with their season-long habit of conjuring late drama, Arne Slot’s men found a way back, ensuring their Champions League campaign began with the same relentless resilience that has carried them domestically. This was Liverpool at their most irresistible – and Atlético at their most combustible.

Liverpool 3–2 Atlético Madrid

Goals: Robertson (4’), Salah (6’), Llorente (45+1’, 81’), Van Dijk (90’)

Match Summary and Tactical Review

Early dominance from Liverpool

Liverpool wasted no time asserting control. Within four minutes, Salah’s fiercely struck free kick took a fortuitous deflection off Robertson, deceiving Jan Oblak to open the scoring. Atlético’s compact 4-4-2 block, designed to frustrate and limit central spaces, was pierced almost immediately. Just two minutes later, Liverpool doubled their advantage. Gravenberch’s surging run through the right half-space pulled defenders out of shape, allowing a sharp one-two with Salah. The Egyptian brushed past three challenges before finishing under Oblak – a goal crafted from guile and technical precision.

Simeone’s plan to irritate and contain Liverpool was in tatters. The hosts’ pressing intensity and fluency in possession stretched Atlético’s lines, with Gravenberch dictating play between midfield and attack. Liverpool’s new record signing, Alexander Isak, made his debut, but the frontline was orchestrated by Salah, whose movements into the inside-right channel repeatedly unsettled Javi Galan, Clément Lenglet and Robin Le Normand.

Atlético’s route back

For much of the first half, Atlético were second-best. Salah struck the post and might have added more. Even VAR intervention – overturning an incorrect handball decision against Clément Lenglet – failed to dent Liverpool’s authority. Yet the visitors struck at a crucial moment. In stoppage time, Llorente broke forward from right-back, toe-poking through Ibrahima Konaté’s legs past Alisson. Though Liverpool protested that Antoine Griezmann was offside and in the goalkeeper’s line of vision, referee Maurizio Mariani allowed the goal to stand. A half that should have ended 3-0 instead finished precariously at 2-1.

Second-half adjustments

Slot persisted with Liverpool’s attacking approach. Isak, energetic but fading after early exertions and a heavy challenge from Le Normand, made way for Hugo Ekitiké. His debut, though goalless, offered glimpses of potential: clever passing combinations with Florian Wirtz and efforts from range that drew gasps from the crowd.

Atlético, emboldened, began to carry a greater threat in transition. Their 4-4-2 shape morphed, with Llorente stepping into midfield to support counterattacks. Liverpool, still searching for a third, left spaces for exploitation. In the 81st minute, Llorente again punished them. Meeting a looping clearance 20 yards from goal, his volley deflected off Alexis Mac Allister, wrong-footing Alisson to level the tie at 2-2.

Late drama and Simeone’s dismissal

The finale was chaotic. Simeone, already seething at refereeing decisions, boiled over after Van Dijk’s winning goal in stoppage time. Szoboszlai’s corner was delivered with precision, and Van Dijk muscled past markers to thunder a header beyond Oblak. Simeone raged at officials and became embroiled in a heated altercation with home fans before being sent off, escorted down the tunnel by stewards.

Liverpool’s knack for late winners – seen against Bournemouth, Newcastle, Arsenal, and Burnley in recent weeks – was extended to Europe. Once again, belief, fitness, and set-piece execution proved decisive.

Final Word

Nights like this remind the football world why Anfield’s reputation is carved in steel and song. What unfolded against Atlético Madrid was not just a match but a visceral drama played out under the floodlights: the surging roar of the Kop, the breathless ebb and flow of momentum, and the intoxicating cocktail of brilliance and chaos that defines the Champions League. From Salah’s dazzling incision to Llorente’s haunting double, from Isak’s first steps in red to Simeone’s explosive dismissal, the spectacle carried a tension so sharp it seemed to hang in the air with every pass and every tackle.

And then came the release – Van Dijk, towering above a crowd of desperate defenders, thundering the ball past Oblak to tear the night apart in a crescendo of sound. The drama, the anguish, the ecstasy: this was European football in its purest form, where belief bends fate and seconds change destinies.

Liverpool leave not only with three points but also with a renewed aura of inevitability. For Atlético, heartbreak lingers, their resistance undone by one final surge. For the neutral, it was football at its most exhilarating – a contest that will be replayed in memory long after the lights dim and the crowd has gone home. If this is the opening act of Liverpool’s European journey, the theatre ahead promises to be unforgettable.