With Erling Braut Haaland tearing up Paris Saint Germain in Germany, Liverpool’s clash with Atlético Madrid ended up taking something of a back seat last night.
Many had predicted a tough evening for the reigning European champions in Madrid, and that proved to be the case as Diego Simeone orchestrated a scrappy, hard-fought 1-0 victory.
Atlético’s performance was up there among their best under the Argentine as they stopped Liverpool from doing what they do best, grinding out wins.
Indeed, the Reds left the Wanda Metropolitano without a shot on target, and a performance they will know was nowhere near their best, which is reflected in the Spanish analysis of the game today.
First, the player ratings. Liverpool do not do well in either AS or Marca, with nobody receiving more than a two out of five from either newspaper.
In AS, Alisson, Andy Robertson and Fabinho all received twos, with the rest of their teammates all being scored one. In comparison, only Ángel Correa and Álvaro Morata received the same scores.
Marca are far harsher, with only Robertson receiving two stars for his performance. Every other Liverpool player is given a one, with Henderson described as ‘nullified’, Firmino ‘lost in attack’ and Mané ‘handicapped’ by his yellow card.
The coverage of the game is a little kinder, with AS journalist Kiko at least saying that Liverpool had ‘an offensive game that is nice to see’.
His fellow journalist Aritz Gabilondo is less enthusiastic, however, stating that Liverpool ‘succumbed’ at the Wanda and were ‘drowned by their own philosophy’ while Carmelo Ruiz says that Liverpool hadn’t returned from their holidays and brands them as ‘lazy’.
Marca are equally harsh on Liverpool, with journalist Alberto Barbero a little critical, saying Liverpool had ‘assumed’ Atlético didn’t have the players to match theirs and that ended up hindering them although he does say they ‘responded like champions’ after going a goal down.
Fellow Marca journalist Isaac Suárez is a little meaner, saying Firmino was left ‘deranged’, Salah was ‘knocked out’, and Mané ‘barely touched the ball’.
However, while both newspapers are celebrating the win and debating Liverpool’s win, they are also preaching caution for the second leg.
A 1-0 win does not mean the tie is over, with both pointing to the fact that Anfield will be as hostile as the Wanda was last night and hastening to remind people of Barcelona’s collapse there last season.
Still, not a great evening for Liverpool as a whole, who, while failing to pick up the win or a crucial away goal, also thoroughly failed to impress the Spanish press.
