Liverpool locked horns with Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium earlier tonight hoping to pick up a win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie. The Reds began the contest on the back foot and conceded an early goal when Saul Niguez scored from close range in the 4th minute. However, Jurgen Klopp’s men settled into the game soon after conceding the opener and dominated possession for major periods in the first half but to no great effect.
The second 45 minutes was more of the same with the Merseyside club enjoying more of the ball but struggling to breakdown the Atletico defence. The Spanish outfit defended valiantly to grind out a 1-0 win in front of the home supporters.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match against Atletico Madrid.
Liverpool Players Rated In Frustrating Defeat Vs Atletico Madrid
GK: Alisson Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian keeper had no chance of saving Saul’s goal. He was tidy with his distribution and made one vital save to deny Alvaro Morata in the first half.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5/10
The English full-back was defensively resilient but lacked accuracy with his ball-distribution. He whipped in numerous crosses from the right flank but failed to create too many chances for his side.
CB: Joe Gomez – 6.5/10
The English centre-back retained possession well and put in a brave display at the heart of the Liverpool defence. However, he will be disappointed for not keeping a clean sheet tonight.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 5/10
It was a rare off-night for the Dutch colossus. He looked a bit nervy when in possession of the ball and put in a sluggish performance inside his own half.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 6.5/10
The Scottish full-back was a bundle of energy down the left-wing but lacked the incision to curve open the Atletico defence in the final third. He had a few problems defensively but did enough to restrict the home side to just one goal.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 5.5/10
The Liverpool captain was unfortunate not to have scored with his attempt that grazed past the post in the second half. However, like many of his teammates, he didn’t show enough creativity in the opposition half and was left a frustrated figure tonight.
CM: Fabinho – 5/10
The Brazilian midfield ace made a nervy start to the game and probably should have made a clearance when the ball struck him and fell in the path of Saul, who made no mistake from close range. He lost a lot of midfield duels in what was overall a lacklustre display from him during the 90 minutes.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6/10
The Dutch international covered a lot of ground in midfield but lacked invention with his passes. He will be hoping for better nights wearing the Liverpool jersey.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 5/10
The Egyptian winger used his pace to run the channels but was mostly ineffective up top. He squandered a glorious opportunity to equalise when his goal-bound shot got deflected away for a corner. Salah was subbed in the second half, which was a surprise considering how little the Reds created after he left the pitch.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 6/10
The Brazilian forward showed a few flashes of his brilliance in the first 45. However, he lacked the energy to get forward and be a threat for significant periods of the second half.
LW: Sadio Mane – 5/10
The Senegalese speedster tried to make some driving runs with the ball, but the Atletico defenders bullied him. He got cautioned early in the game and was replaced at half-time.
Substitutes:
LW: Divock Origi – 5.5/10
The Belgian forward cooked up one excellent chance for Henderson who narrowly missed the target. He was otherwise quite poor after coming off the bench at half-time.
CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 4/10
He offered very little going forward.
CM: James Milner – 5/10
He brought some energy onto the pitch but had very little time to make an impact.
