Reds Leave It Late But Should’ve Been Comfortable | OneFootball

Liverpool Edge Atletico Madrid in Champions League Thriller

Liverpool’s Champions League campaign gathered momentum with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid at Anfield. On the Daily Red Podcast, Dave Hendrick dissected the performance, highlighting moments of brilliance and frustration as Arne Slot’s side once again required a late winner.

Early dominance undone by lapses

Hendrick opened by emphasising the Reds’ blistering start. “We started off like a house on fire,” he said, pointing to Mohamed Salah’s deflected opener after just four minutes. The second came moments later when “Mo and Gravenberch play a one two on the edge of the box. Mo somehow manages to emerge from the middle of three Atletico Madrid players, muscling them out of his way and finishes brilliantly to make it 2-0.”

At that point, Hendrick noted, “you think we’re going to win this comfortably,” yet the match became more complicated than expected. Marcus Llorente pulled one back for Atletico, with Hendrick questioning how Antoine Griezmann was “not deemed offside. He’s two to three yards the far side of our defence… and it’s just not even taken into account.”

Missed chances and frustration

Despite Liverpool’s dominance, wastefulness in front of goal kept Atletico alive. “We should score a third through Mo… he hits the post. It’s very, very unfortunate,” Hendrick reflected, adding that substitute Hugo “should score twice” but “just seemed to snatch at this one” when presented with a clear chance.

Atletico’s equaliser again came via Llorente, leaving Hendrick exasperated. “I’m sick of this fella because he plays against us and he looks like Ruud Gullit. He plays against everybody else and he looks like Robbie Savage.” A deflection off Alexis Mac Allister wrong-footed Alisson, setting up a nervy finale.

Van Dijk proves decisive again

Ultimately it was Virgil van Dijk who made the difference. “Szobos had taken some really good corners in this game,” Hendrick said, before praising the captain’s towering finish. “Virgil is basically standing on the penalty spot being wrestled and still gets up and powers the header in to give us our third goal.”

Hendrick put Van Dijk’s impact into context: “Twenty five headed goals he’s scored for us, six more than any defender has managed across Europe’s big five leagues since Van Dijk made his debut for Liverpool in January of 2018. The guy is an absolute colossus.”

Simeone incident overshadows contest

Off the pitch, Hendrick was scathing about Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone after a heated confrontation with supporters. “To see him lose his temper like that was shocking… He was going to attack that fan. He wasn’t going to confront him.” Hendrick drew parallels with Eric Cantona’s infamous moment, warning that if not for security intervention, “Simeone would have been in the same situation… it would have been the end of his time as a high level football coach in Europe.”

The fallout, Hendrick argued, reflects poorly on Atletico Madrid. “Diego Simeone needs to behave himself an awful lot better,” he concluded, underlining the responsibility managers have to set the standard for their clubs.

Focus shifts to Everton

Liverpool will not face Atletico Madrid again in the league phase, a fact Hendrick welcomed. “It’s not like we have to go to Madrid to play them. We won’t see them again.” Attention now turns to the Merseyside derby against Everton, with Hendrick describing it as “obviously a huge game.”

The 3-2 scoreline keeps Liverpool top of their Champions League group, but as Hendrick warned, “We should have won that game five or six one… they didn’t deserve two, but we should have scored five or six.” For all the excitement, the lingering message is that efficiency must improve if Liverpool are to navigate a challenging European schedule.