Liverpool withstand Llorente heroics, leaving it late to beat Atletico Madrid

Liverpool started like a house on fire, scoring twice inside the opening 10 minutes. They dominated for most of the contest but needed a late goal to win it, as Marcos Llorente scored twice and nearly rescued a point for his side.

Andy Robertson and Mohamed scored in the 4th and 6th minute respectively and looked set to cruise to victory. However, Llorente halved the deficit before half time, and restored parity in the 81st minute.

Atletico Madrid defended with zeal to take the point back to Madrid, but a bullet header from Van Dijk late in the game ensured Arne Slots side kept all available points.

Anfield felt like a pressure-cooker from the first whistle. That electricity turned into a chaotic, incisive opening, with  Liverpool ripping their visitors apart inside the game’s opening six minutes. 

Andy Robertson, pinched forward in the press, turned Mohamed Salah’s free-kick into the net to give the hosts and earlu lead, and moments later Salah, after a neat one-two with Ryan Gravenberch, ghosted through Atletico’s rear guard and finished with a clinical low drive. 

Two goals in six minutes; the Kop was in full voice, and Liverpool looked in total control.  But the match never settled into a procession. Atletico slowly regained composure and, true to Diego Simeone’s DNA, found a way back into the contest. 

Marcos Llorente, who Liverpool fans must remember for his decisive contribution that knocked the Reds out of the competition in 2020, punished soft moments in Liverpool’s shape just before the interval, curling a composed finish past Alisson to reduce the arrears and hand Atlético momentum heading into the break.

Atleti did not seem buoyed by the boost, however, as Liverpool still carried more zip in the second half. Salah rattled the post with a ferocious attempt that might have killed the game off, and Florian Wirtz was allowed to do as pleased in Atleti’s first third. 

The Spaniards, however, dealt a sucker punch. Llorente found the net again late in the second half with a volley that needed a wicked deflection to beat the typically impervious Allison. 

The previously boisterous Anfield as suddenly nervy and urgent. What followed summed up the night: desperate, high-intensity football. Dominik Szoboszlai swung in a corner deep into stoppage time, and Virgil van Dijk  towered and nodded Liverpool back in front.

The stadium erupted into unbridled relief, and Diego Simeone, furious at the decision and its context, was dismissed from the touchline. It was the type of late-winner drama the club has leaned on in the Premier League this season.