Liverpool continued their run of late winning goals in Wednesday's Champions Leagye clash with Atletico Madrid, as Virgil van Dijk scored a 92nd-minute header
Jamie Carragher speaks
Jamie Carragher reacted to Wednesday's win(Image: CBS Sports)
Jamie Carragher only needed two words to sum up Liverpool's late win against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. The Reds snatched a 3-2 victory at Anfield to start their European campaign in dramatic fashion.
Liverpool raced into an early lead on Wednesday, with Andy Robertson and Mo Salah putting the Premier League holders 2-0 up with just six minutes on the clock. But Atletico got their act together and staged a comeback.
Marcos Llorente scored either side of half-time, equalising in the 81st minute. As the full-time whistle loomed, Virgil van Dijk popped up with a goal and won the game for Liverpool.
His 92nd-minute header continued a trend of late winners for Arne Slot's side. In all five games this season, Liverpool have scored their winning goal in either the 83rd minute or beyond.
Predictably, the trend has sparked debate about the Reds' performances, with Carragher the latest to chime in with a cheeky social media post. "Devil's club," the Liverpool legend posted on X, followed by five laughing emojis.
While their team spirit is undeniably a good trait, there are concerns over why Liverpool have been finding themselves in need of a late goal rather than winning more comfortably. Robertson told TNT Sports post-match: "I think we need to maybe get back to winning a bit simpler and a bit easier.
"Obviously, it's a great thing to have been able to keep going right to the end, but when you're 2-0 up and you're playing so well in the first half, it should have been a more comfortable night."
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates after scoring their side's third goal in injury time 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 James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Liverpool left it late once again to beat Atletico Madrid
Slot, meanwhile, lauded his players' mentality, saying: "If you want to beat a team like Atletico, which is known and has an unbelievable mentality, you have to beat them with their own weapon as well and that is mentality.
"I think that's what we showed again today, that we can beat them also by mentality. But I think we should have made it easier for ourselves."
Van Dijk added: "We try, we kept pushing for the 3-1. We concede the equaliser, massively deflected. It was not great. We found a way again. We were dangerous in our set-pieces anyway, they were pretty aggressive I must say. I'm glad I got the winner.
"They're a team that never gives up, they have quality players that can punish you if you're not there in a split second, if you're a little bit too late and they punished us before the break and after the break we try to go for the 3-1.
"They get a bit of confidence from that as well. But we have to keep going and show the resilience we've been showing for many years and it was another great European night here again."
The Reds will be hoping for a less stressful occasion when they host Everton for the Merseyside derby in Saturday's early kick-off.
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