Liverpool has been questioned by the Spanish media after earning a huge win over Atletico Madrid, with claims that the team is "significantly weaker" than previous years
Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool celebrates his goal to make it 2-1 during the UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 of 8 match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid at Anfield
Liverpool registered a huge win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League(Image: (Photo by Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
Liverpool is up and running in the Champions League, as the Reds picked up an important three points to kickstart the league phase over old foe Atletico Madrid.
The Merseyside outfit has made quite the habit of running into the Rojiblancos in Europe, having faced off at the same stage last season, which was also at Anfield. This time around, Atletico was a pot one team for the draw, meaning it was always likely to be one of the hardest games that Liverpool faces in the early phase of the competition, highlighting the importance of a positive result.
The match fell into an all too familiar pattern early on, however, when Marcos Llorente scored after just 17 minutes. The midfielder has had a habit of scoring against Liverpool, having done so five times in as many appearances against the team.
Fortunately for Andoni Iraola, his own midfield then took control of the game, as Dominik Szoboszlai levelled the game before the break, following a sublime backheel assist from Ronald Araujo.
After the half-time stoppage, Liverpool completed the comeback, as a bouncing ball found its way to Alexis Mac Allister, who rifled an effort beyond the outstretched hands of Jan Oblak and into the back of the net.
From there on, the Reds saw out the match, earning an important triumph for a team that is still missing key stars, embedding new ones into the side, and changing the style of play under the new head coach.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.(Image: Jan Kruger - UEFA via Getty Images)
Despite all of that, the Spanish media has questioned Liverpool, with Marca claiming: "A Liverpool side that was significantly weaker than the ones we've seen in recent years proved sufficient to nullify Marcos's traditional goal at his favorite stadium."
The report continued further on, in regard to the equalizer from Szoboszlai: "It wasn't that Liverpool had done much to deserve it; perhaps Atlético had done more to throw away their lead."
Before it surmised: "Between one thing and another, the game lost whatever rhythm it had. And that suited Liverpool just fine, benefiting from the constant changes in an Atletico side that was becoming increasingly disjointed from the bench, as the minutes and the result slipped away . Llorente was there, yes, but much more is needed."
While it's clear that the media felt Atletico Madrid was perhaps hard done by in a game that had some fine margins, Liverpool won't care after picking up an important win.
The team may be less fluid and slightly disjointed, but there is clearly still threat there across the team, especially in an attacking sense, with the forward and midfield line that was named at Anfield on Wednesday.
It's the job of Iraola to make that disjointed mix into a cohesive whole. Maybe then the "significantly weaker" Liverpool side will regain some of that threat and fear factor that was present in recent years.