The so-called ‘hero of Anfield’, Marcos Llorente, will not be back there for the re-run of one of the great recent epics of the Champions League. Nor, alas, will the chief actors - Antoine Griezmann, James Milner and Naby Keita - from the latest edgy meeting of Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, in Spain two weeks ago.
But that doesn't mean the grudge-heavy, gripping mini-series that Liverpool versus Atletico has become has been tamed. The two chief combatants will be very present, making little eye contact with one another, and not shaking hands at the final whistle.
Diego Simeone and Jurgen Klopp are the two longest-serving head coaches in elite European club football. But the more they bump into each other, the less they seem to have in common, the smaller their shared understanding about the correct protocols of the job.
“I don’t give my opinions about how opposition teams play,” said Simeone ahead of Atletico’s trip to Merseyside. “I have a code, and among coaches we have to respect that.”
Atletico 2-3 Liverpool ratings
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ATLETICO MADRID RATINGS: Jan Oblak - 6: The Slovenian did not have much chance of stopping any of the goals. He made some fine saves but his distribution was poor. AFP -
Kieran Trippier - 6: The Englishman made life difficult for Mane and was not shy of using underhand tactics. A combative display. PA -
Felipe - 5: The Brazilian was slack early on and his clearance gave Keita the opportunity to score. He improved later but will regret his slow start. Getty -
Geoffrey Kondogbia - 4: The 28-year-old was deployed out of position at centre back and did not look comfortable. He was replaced by Gimenez at half-time. Getty -
Mario Hermoso - 2: The Spaniard was awful. He frequently wasted possession, defended awkwardly and barged over Jota to concede the penalty that gave Liverpool victory. AFP -
Thomas Lemar - 7: The Frenchman helped bring his side back into the game with the cross for the first goal and managed to find space throughout. He was a constant threat but was left with too much to do when Atletico went down to 10 men. AP -
Rodrigo De Paul - 6: The Argentinian produced some good touches going forward but neglected his defensive duties. He was withdrawn for Lodi with 10 minutes left. AFP -
Koke - 4: The 29-year-old could not match Liverpool’s tempo. He needed to put his stamp on the game but failed in that task. AP -
Yannick Carrasco - 6: The Belgian was another who started sloppily but improved. He was better going forward but was forced to temper his ambitions after the red card. AFP -
Antoine Griezmann - 6: The Frenchman ruined a splendid two-goal performance with a silly high foot that earned him an avoidable red card early in the second half. Graded down two marks for reckless stupidity. AFP -
Joao Felix – 7: The Portuguese showed his class and pace. His run and pass set up Griezmann to equalise. Withdrawn with 10 minutes left when Correa came on. AFP -
SUBS: Jose Maria Gimenez - 6: The Uruguayan replaced Kondogbia after the break. He was bundled over in the area by Jota and on other nights might have been awarded a penalty. Getty -
Renan Lodi - 5: One of a quartet of 80th-minute substitutes. He replaced de Paul but was unable to have much impact. AFP -
Angel Correa - 5: The Argentinian came on for Joao Felix with 10 minutes left. He had one chance but never quite got to the pace of the game. EPA -
Marcos Llorente - 5: The 26-year-old was sent on in the 80th minute in place of Hermoso. He produced a strong run down the line but the cross was aimless. Getty -
Luis Suarez - 5: The former Liverpool striker was desperate to get on the pitch but only saw 10 minutes of action when Lamar came off. He made one chance but displayed more anger than art. AFP -
LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 8: The Brazilian kept his team in the game, making three excellent saves in the first half and another in the second. A picture of composure in a chaotic match. EPA -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5: A difficult night defensively for the 22-year-old, especially before the break. He was replaced by Gomez with five minutes to go. AP -
Joel Matip - 5: The centre back was disoriented by the speed and movement of the counter-attacks. The pressure relaxed a little when the opposition went down to 10 men. EPA -
Virgil van Dijk - 5: The Dutchman lost Griezmann on the equaliser and was more uncertain than usual. He had a scoring chance with a header but directed the effort at Oblak. AFP -
Andy Robertson - 5: The Scot was energetic going forward but his delivery was imprecise. He stuck to his task when defending. AP -
Jordan Henderson - 5: The captain seemed unsure of his role until Fabinho was brought on at half time. He gave the ball away more often than usual. AP -
James Milner - 7: The 35-year-old used all his experience to make his mark in midfield and he combined nicely with Salah. He was unfortunate to be booked, which led to him being replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 63rd minute. Reuters -
Naby Keita - 5: The Guinean scored a superb goal but did not do enough defensively. He could have done much better for both of Atletico’s goals and was replaced by Fabinho at half time. AFP -
Mohamed Salah - 8: The Egyptian maintained his mindblowing form with a brilliant opening goal and a perfectly-taken penalty to win the game. He was taken off in stoppage time when Williams came on to shore up the defence. AP -
Roberto Firmino - 6: The Brazilian dropped back to supplement the midfield, which meant he was forced to neglect his attacking duties for periods. Griezmann was sent off for kicking him in the face. Reuters -
Sadio Mane - 4: The Senegalese allowed himself to be distracted by the rugged treatment meted out by Atletico. It was no surprise when Jota replaced him in the 62nd minute. Getty -
SUBS: Fabinho - 7: The Brazilian came on for Keita after half time and the midfield immediately looked more balanced. A calming, constructive influence. AP -
Diogo Jota - 5: The Portuguese joined the action in the 62nd minute at the expense of Mane. He was fouled for the game-winning penalty but almost conceded a spot-kick at the other end moments later. Getty -
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 7: The Englishman entered the fray with 27 minutes to go in place of Milner. He worked hard up and down the pitch and tested Oblak with a powerful shot. AFP -
Joe Gomez – 6: The 24-year-old was brought on to replace Alexander-Arnold with five minutes to go. He was strong against Lodi. AFP -
Neco Williams - 6: Brought on for Salah in stoppage time. The 20-year-old was secure and even got forward to fashion a shooting chance. AFP
No doubt about the target of that statement. Simeone was clearly referencing the remarks made by Klopp at the end of last month, when Liverpool won a see-saw group game 3-2 at Atletico. Klopp had posed himself a question in the pre-match press conference about what he thought of Atletico’s perceived defence-first approach and answered it candidly. “Do I like it? Not a lot,” he said, “but that's me. I like a different style of football."
Which was only a little softer than the embittered remarks the German manager made in March 2020, when Simeone’s Atletico went 2-0 down in extra-time of a last-16 second leg at Anfield, and ended up winning 3-2 against a Liverpool who had had 34 shots to Atletico’s 11 and held 71 per cent of possession. “I don’t know why Atletico don’t play proper football,” snapped Klopp, who has just marked the sixth anniversary of his joining Liverpool as manager.
Simeone, who will next month celebrate a decade in charge of Atletico, recalled those comments and the spikiness that has now become a feature of every meeting. He was obliged to point out that the reason he hadn’t shaken Klopp’s hand at the end of their latest five-goal to-and-fro was because he never shakes hands with his opposite number after the final whistle.
“I don’t like doing it after matches because I know the coaches’ emotions will be very different,” explained Simeone on Tuesday, adding, pointedly, “in England, they present it as chivalrous. I just don’t like being false.”
“We were both emotional,” acknowledged Klopp, as he reflected on the match in Madrid, which featured a 2-0 lead for Liverpool being whittled back, plus a red card for dangerous play for Griezmann, who had scored both Atletico goals, and then a penalty converted by Mohamed Salah to keep Liverpool on maximum points so far in the group. “But now I know he doesn’t like to do [handshakes] we can all go home happy. But between the handshakes, it’s an important game and I am more concerned about that.”
Klopp will be without the injured Keita, who scored a stunning goal in Madrid, and Milner, who was influential in Liverpool’s early control of that game, but believes fellow midfielders Fabinho and Thiago have made sufficient progress in their recoveries from injury to play some part if needed. A victory would confirm Liverpool’s place in the knockout phase.
Simeone, whose team are second in the group with six points, confronts a longer list of absences. Griezmann serves the first of his two matches of suspension just as he was coming into form for Atletico. Stefan Savic is also banned, for accumulated yellow cards.
Thomas Lemar is struggling for fitness, and has not travelled to Liverpool, and nor has Llorente, whose outstanding contribution to the comeback success the last time Atletico made this trip - Llorente, on as a substitute, scored twice in extra-time - had him dubbed the Hero of Anfield and kick-started his young career.
That was a night remembered not only for the startling turnaround, and the drama on the pitch, but as the last time a full crowd was at Anfield before the first Covid 19-driven lockdown. According to a preliminary UK government report into the handling of the pandemic, infections with the virus in the Liverpool area rose after that night. It concludes many lives were probably lost as a result of not closing the stadium to spectators.
“In the months since then, the world turned upside down,” reflected Klopp. “We had a sense something was happening to society, but not to that extent. It’s one game I never thought of as [just] a football game - a strange moment.”
