Liverpool verdict from Anfield as the Reds beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 with yet another late goal
Paul Gorst is the Liverpool ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent and brings readers the inside track on all matters Anfield day in, day out. Now into his seventh season in the role, Paul follows the Reds home and away, wherever they play - including pre season. He brings you all the latest Liverpool news first each day, plus exclusive interviews and insightful, independent analysis. A journalist with over a decade's worth of experience, he has worked at the ECHO since 2016.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Liverpool FC and Atletico de Madrid at Anfield on September 17, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk celebrates after his dramatic winner against Atletico Madrid
(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
On what was his 47th birthday, Arne Slot will have been forgiven for thinking this was a night that put more than just the one year on him. But in all likelihood, the Liverpool boss probably never doubted the outcome as his team left it late yet again to secure another big victory.
For what is now the fifth game running, the Premier League champions scored their winning goal in the closing stages, this time to give lift-off to their efforts to bring home a seventh European Cup and prove that their flair for the dramatic is not confined only to domestic duty.
Virgil van Dijk's 92nd-minute header to seal a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid here means it is still Dominik Szoboszlai's free-kick against Arsenal that remains the earliest the Reds have scored any of their winning goals this term, which came after a mere 83 minutes.
Author avatar
Author avatar
And for all the talk of Liverpool putting their fans - and head coach - through the emotional wringer every week with their apparent unwillingness to put games to bed before the final knockings, their ability to continue scoring so late only fosters a belief that it can be done. The psychological impact this must have on the opposition can become weaponised by Slot's team as they go forth.
It's not a skill the Dutchman wants his players to rely on too much but at this stage, there is an inevitability about it all and it is one that the opposition cannot escape now either. It's becoming a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy and players and fans are only becoming emboldened the more they see it happen. It's quite the string to have on the bow when prizes like the Champions League and Premier League are within reach.
Marcos Llorente's 81st-minute volley, his second goal of the game, should have been the sucker punch that took the air out of the Anfield night. Instead it only led to the questions as to just what minute the hosts would once more grab their decisive goal. Those who had 92 in the sweep will have cleaned up this time as Van Dijk nodded home in stoppage time to secure a fifth successive win.
Slot has not done a perfect job of concealing his frustration with how his side were eliminated from this competition last season and the continued reference to that penalty-shootout loss to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in March has laid bare how much he resented it, in fact.
And while it would be a stretch to suggest the motivation for this European Cup campaign is a burning sense of injustice, there is at least merit in the theory that he is driven by some unfinished business. There are some in the squad who have privately made known this is the tournament they want to win more than any other this season too after scaling domestic heights last time out.
All eyes at kick off, inevitably, were trained on Alexander Isak, who was making his debut after signing for a British record fee of £125m on transfer deadline day from Newcastle United. The Sweden international had played just 18 minutes of football of any kind since May and was not at his sparkling best as a result. But the new No.9 showed enough flashes during his hour-long cameo to excite the supporters for what is to come across the course of his six-year contract.
The link-up with his fellow £100m man, Florian Wirtz, started to become increasingly influential as the first period wore on and Isak's give-and-go with the Germany international should have brought a goal when Jan Oblak was rounded only for Jeremie Frimpong to overegg the pudding with his presence on the scene, which allowed Atleti to clear.
Liverpool have invested over £240m in the deals to bring Wirtz and Isak to Merseyside, completing a couple of blockbuster moves that are as much about future prosperity as they are about delivering right now and it will be fascinating to see how that fledgling relationship develops in the coming weeks and months. Both were the preeminent players of their respective positions on the market this summer and so much will now be demanded at Anfield.
Wirtz once more grew into the game and should have claimed a sublime assist for starting and ending a move that put it on a plate for Mohamed Salah, only for the Egyptian to strike the post after the hour mark. The former Bayer Leverkusen star has poise and invention by the spades and he is going to be quite the player when he is fully up to speed. This was his most encouraging outing yet.
Liverpool came haring out the traps and after Andy Robertson had deflected in Salah's free-kick inside four minutes, the Egyptian added one that was indisputably his just a few seconds later. It appeared as though a break in tradition was forthcoming as the Reds aimed to wrap up their business early this time out. But why change what is clearly a successful formula?
After Llorente's strike had evened it up, it was left to skipper Van Dijk to provide the sort of moment that the talisman figures are known for. The only question now is just what minute will the next late winner arrive?