Liverpool 2-1 Atletico Madrid: Reds Come From Behind in Opener
Liverpool overcame a 1-0 deficit to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their Champions League opener, courtesy of goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
Liverpool showed tremendous character on Wednesday night in their Champions League opener, coming from a 1-0 home deficit to defeat Atletico Madrid 2-1. Dominik Szoboszlai canceled out Marcos Llorente's opener, while Alexis Mac Allister completed the comeback to ensure a successful Champions League debut for manager Andoni Iraola.
"I enjoyed it," Iraola summed up after the match. "They are a very good team. Technically, in midfield, they have great players. It's not easy to press players like that because of their quality. They've been playing together for a long time. Once again we managed to make a comeback, after Forest and after Newcastle. We still have this thing we need to improve at the start of games, but I'm happy because we showed character. This is the Champions League, there are no easy games here."
The Reds' manager added: "It's hard to ask for more than this. I think we showed a lot of character, especially the players, after a difficult start. I loved it—the atmosphere was incredible and I feel lucky to experience it. I think I need to take responsibility for the start, because they surprised us a bit tactically. They played with five at the back, in a 5-3-2 formation. We expected something else and had to wait to fix it. After halftime we played much better, pressed better, and I think we were the better team."
"We were behind, but it didn't take us long to recover," Szoboszlai concluded. "I'm happy we secured the win against a good opponent. Now we can focus on Fulham. We can achieve anything we want, so we have to work hard for it and hope for the best."
