Saúl Ñíguez’s early goal was all Diego Simeone men needed to condemned the European champion, Liverpool to their third defeat of this season’s campaign
This defeat maintained Atlético’s unbeaten record in knockout Champions League home games under their current Manager (Simeone).
Liverpool Football Club, will be hoping to overturn a deficit against Spanish opposition at Anfield to remain in the 2019/2020 Champions League on the 11th of March.
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Jürgen Klopp and his players will know from this punishing experience not to expect another Barcelona against Atlético Madrid.
The European champions tasted rare defeat due to the fight, resilience and menace in Diego Simeone’s side; qualities Barcelona lacked at Anfield last May and Atlético were supposed to have mislaid this season. But no, they remain a team in the image of their combative and formidable manager.
Klopp was booked for remonstrating with the Polish referee over Atlético’s time-wasting tactics and ability to collapse under non-existent pressure. He admitted substituting Sadio Mané at half-time to avoid the red card his opponents were allegedly trying to get for the Senegal forward.
The Liverpool manager also spotted the throw-in that was wrongly awarded against his team before the corner that yielded Atlético’s winner. Inevitably, Klopp drew on the power of Anfield as the perfect cure for the Champions League holders.
