REUTERS/Phil Noble
For all the tiresome talk of Marcos Llorente and his dog, it was Atletico Madrid who couldn't hold onto a lead against Liverpool on Wednesday evening in the Champions League.
Yes, fresh from picking up a first win of the season away at Ipswich Town, the Anfield side showed their powers of recovery to secure a 2-1 victory over Diego Simeone's men, having fallen behind early to that man Llorente.
The knives were out at that stage amid the Reds' defensive woes, although goals from the midfield duo of Dominik Szoboszlai and an Alexis Mac Allister stunner flipped the tie on its head, with Andoni Iraola off the mark in Europe.
Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Of course, it certainly wasn't a perfect performance - looking at you, Milos Kerkez - but let's look to the positives, shall we, with the forward line and midfield unit clicking into gear for the most part.
How Liverpool came back to beat Atletico Madrid
Llorente's early opener had alarm bells ringing again on Merseyside, the Reds having endured some difficult nights on home soil last season under Arne Slot, most notably the thumping defeat to PSV Eindhoven.
arne-slot-liverpool
The Premier League outfit were reliant on the peerless Alisson to ensure it stayed at just 1-0 too, the Brazilian palming Julian Alvarez's stinging effort round the post.
In need of a moment of magic to unlock the door at the opposite end, the surprise hero emerged in the form of Ronald Araujo, with the Uruguayan's deft backheel finding Szoboszlai in space inside the area.
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The on-loan Barcelona man may not be a flying full-back in the mould of Trent Alexander-Arnold, yet his quality shone through in that moment, now looking like the solution on that right flank ahead of the hapless Jeremie Frimpong.
As for Liverpool's second, well, it was ultimately a timely intervention from that man Mac Allister, the Argentine letting his feet do the talking amid all the noise surrounding his contract situation.
If he keeps producing strikes like that, FSG might have no choice but to dish out an extension, the World Cup winner lashing in on his weaker left foot before producing a passionate celebration in front of the Anfield crowd.
Perhaps that sweet strike might have been reminiscent of a certain Philippe Coutinho in his pomp, although it was another man who looked even more akin to the fleet-footed Brazilian.
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In the sticks, Alisson was decisive again, as ever, after keeping out that early effort from the wantaway Alvarez, while the match-winning moment came from another Jurgen Klopp signing, in the form of Mac Allister.
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Liverpool vs Atleti
Liverpool
45%
1.62
4
14
3
7
11
419
10
1
The man who set the Merseysiders on their way was Szoboszlai, however, with Liverpool's action man again central to everything good about this team on Wednesday.
There's been so much talk about potentially shifting the Hungarian back to right-back, amid concerns over what his best role actually is, yet this was a reminder of what he offers in that number eight berth.
It was a fine finish from the ex-RB Leipzig playmaker, the £60m man bailing his side out of trouble once again, as he did so often across Slot's fruitless final year at Anfield.
There remains frustration over his use of the ball at times, having held onto possession too long against the LaLiga outfit, but there is a Coutinho-style completeness to his game that is hard not to be impressed by.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Indeed, as OptaJoe's Michael Reid pointed out, Szoboszlai was the "first Liverpool player to score, complete 50+ passes, create five+ chances, complete four+ dribbles, and win possession five+ times in the same match" since Coutinho achieved that same feat against Maribor back in October 2017.
No player on the pitch came close to his tally of five key passes made, with Florian Wirtz sat in second on three, with Szoboszlai regularly looking to make that probing, forward pass.
Yes he lost possession 16 times, but that was only as a result of his desire to make things happen for his side, with Atleti having no answer in the end as Liverpool came back to seal all three points.
Perhaps like with Coutinho in his pomp, it may have to be accepted that Szoboszlai will leave things a little open in central midfield, having been dribbled past twice on the night, yet more importantly is what he offers in the other direction.
It's fair to say this team looks a whole lot better when the 25-year-old is pulling the strings at the heart of it.