Ranking Liverpool's 5 best players in 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid | UEFA Champions League 2021-22
Liverpool continued their unbeaten run this season with a thrilling win over Atletico Madrid. The Reds went 2-0 up early in the game but needed a Mohamed Salah penalty late in the second half to seal all three points.
The Egyptian opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 8th minute and Naby Keita doubled the lead five minutes later. Jurgen Klopp's side looked in complete control but Antoine Griezmann struck twice to level things up before half-time.
The game was set for a big second-half, but Griezmann was sent off after his boot caught Roberto Firmino's face in the 52nd minute. Salah managed to hand Liverpool the lead after Mario Hermoso body-checked Diogo Jota in the 82nd minute to gift Liverpool a penalty.
The referee handed Atletico Madrid a penalty for a similar foul by Jota. But VAR surprisingly overturned the decision and the Premier League side held on.
Diego Simeone refused to shake hands with Klopp after the game ended, which saw the Reds manager unhappy. While the Atletico Madrid manager claimed he does this every week, the German was not pleased:
"The situation is clear: I want to shake his hand, he doesn't want to. I want to shake his hand and he is running off. He was not happy – not with me, but with the game, the world, that sort of stuff."
Here are
Liverpool's 5 best players from the 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid:
#5 - Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold was nowhere near his best last night as he was exposed a few too many times in the first half. However, he was better after half-time and did well.
Atletico Madrid were trying to make the most of the space left behind by Trent when he went up in attack. That saw him caught in two minds in the first half. Antoine Griezmann's sending off made things better for him as the home side sat back and were giving the right-back more space to work.
#4 - Andy Robertson
Andy Robertson was very similar to Trent on the opposite wing. He too was going forward at every chance in the second half but did not manage to put in a good final ball.
The Scotsman had a good chance to get on the scoresheet too but shot over. He was credited with an assist for the game's opening goal and, overall, had a decent outing.