Liverpool – Atlético Madrid: Virgil Van Dijk To The Rescue (3-2)

Liverpool kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a late, dramatic win. Mohamed Salah set the Anfield early on fire, assisting Robertson before adding a goal himself. Yet, Marcus Llorente, reminiscing about his memories at Anfield, struck twice to level the tie. Virgil Van Dijk’s late header underlined Liverpool’s enduring knack for late goals.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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After Jürgen Klopp’s departure and Arne Slot’s arrival, Liverpool sat out the window, bringing in only Federico Chiesa to Anfield. After leveling with Manchester United in terms of league titles in the 2024/25 season, Liverpool’s board called the shots to shift into top gear and elevate the quality of the squad to keep building on what was achieved previously. The Reds went to the Bundesliga and secured Jeremy Frimpong and Florian Wirtz’s deals from Bayer Leverkusen and shifted to Frankfurt to seal Hugo Ekitiké’s signing. Additionally, the left-back Milos Kerkez landed in Liverpool, coming from Bournemouth, whereas the eyes were on how the Reds board would sanction a deal with Newcastle United to wrap up Alexander Isak’s saga.

In Spain, after a trophyless season, Atlético Madrid went through a blood-refreshing operation to rejuvenate the squad for Diego Simeone. Álex Baena, Johnny Cardoso, and Marc Pubill joined from Villarreal, Real Betis, and Real Mallorca, respectively. From Serie A, Los Rojiblancos landed Giacomo Raspadori, Matteo Ruggeri, and Nico Gonzalez. Moreover, Thiago Almada became a part of Atlético Madrid, coming from Botafogo. Nevertheless, Diego Simeone had a rough start to the season, as his team has been able to secure only five points out of twelve. That saw them sit in the eleventh spot in the table before heading toward Anfield.

Liverpool started the Champions League night with Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté at the core of the defense. Jeremy Frimpong returned to feature as a right back with Andy Robertson on the left. Dominik Szoboszlai sat next to Ryan Gravenberch in the pivot. In the attack, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo hugged the touchlines with Florian Wirtz in the playmaker spot. As promised, Arne Slot gave Alexander Isak his debut with Liverpool as the Reds’ striker.

On paper, Diego Simeone opted for a 4-4-2 formation in which Marcus Llorente and Javi Galán functioned as fullbacks with Clément Lenglet and Robin Le Normand in the center of the backline. On the wings, Diego Simeone counted on his son, Giuliano Simeone, to gallop the length of the pitch on the right and tasked Nico Gonzalez with the same on the left. In midfield, Pablo Barrios partnered with Conor Gallagher, whereas Giacomo Raspadori replaced Julian Alvarez, leading the attack with Antoine Griezmann.

Mohamed Salah Ignites Anfield

Two minutes in, Florian Wirtz dropped off, dragging Conor Gallagher with him, and Mohamed Salah stretched the width of the pitch, pulling out Javi Galán. That widened the right inside channel for Frimpong to sprint forward, forcing Nico Gonzalez to track him back. As a result, the space between the lines was available for Ryan Gravenberch to move his body into. Salah and Wirtz connected passes to find Gravenberch, who Lenglet fouled at the edge of the box. The Egyptian took the responsibility for the free kick. He smashed the ball to be deflected by Robertson and head home.

Diego Simeone instructed his team to drop and defend in a 5-4-1 low block, in which Giuliano Simeone joined the backline and Raspadori withdrew to the midfield line. For Liverpool, Salah and Gakpo held the width of the pitch, Frimpong operated high down the right inside channel, and Robertson was in deeper positions down the left inside corridor. Gravenberch and Wirtz swung between high and low positions, with Szoboszlai sitting behind the ball to dictate ball progression.

The wide triangle formed by Salah, Frimpong, and Gravenberch on the right appeared to be the source of Liverpool’s offensive threat. Six minutes in, Wirtz penetrated the box with Isak to pin Atlético Madrid center-backs. Frimpong, with an overlapping run, drew Nico Gonzalez’s attention and allowed Salah to drift inside. As a reaction, Gallagher moved deep to cover the distance between Lenglet and Galán. As a consequence, Gravenberch had space and time, at the edge of the box, to combine with Salah in a one-two and break down the visitors’ lines. The Egyptian found himself facing the goalkeeper and calmly doubled the score.

Liverpool’s right side dynamics were the key to infiltrating Atlético Madrid’s box. With Salah pinning Javi Galán near the touchlines and Frimpong attracting Nico Gonzalez, Liverpool vacated the right inside channel for one of the midfielders to dart into and draw Gallagher backward. That freed the other midfielder to come short and receive from the backline. As a result, Liverpool generated a numerical superiority in the inside corridor, which facilitated their ball combinations. From there, Isak joined the crew, attempting to pull out Atlético Madrid center-backs and release a runner behind with a through ball.

Atlético Madrid against Liverpool 4-4-2 diamond

Liverpool opted to retreat and take a breath. The Reds defended in a 4-4-2 diamond shape, with the diamond shuffling across based on the ball side. The visitors looked to construct from the right side to manipulate Liverpool’s defensive scheme. From there, Gakpo jumped on Llorente, with Isak sitting between Barrios and Le Normand. Salah kept tabs on Lenglet with Wirtz joining the ball side. Szoboszlai took the responsibility for marking Raspadori, who tended to drop deeper. The visitors exploited Liverpool’s late jumps to work the ball out to the far side, where they generated a numerical superiority and progressed down the left side.

14th minute: Atlético Madrid buildup sequence. Isak jumps onto Le Normand, whereas Lenglet keeps retreating to bait Mohamed Salah forward. That allows Le Normand to push the ball between Liverpool center-backs and access the left side, where the visitors create a three-versus-two situation. From there, Javi Galán scampers forward and sets Nico González behind Frimpong. Konaté clears the ball out.

When Atlético Madrid tended to progress from the right side by finding Giuliano Simeone coming short near the touchlines, Andy Robertson pounced on, shutting him down and cutting the ball off. From there, Liverpool’s close proximity out of possession served them well in threading passes during the turnover.

High up the pitch, the visitors adopted a man-marking approach in which Griezmann and Raspadori occupied Liverpool center-backs, and the wingers man-marked the opposite fullbacks. Gallagher and Barrios occupied Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, with Lenglet stepping out on Wirtz between the lines. Atlético Madrid’s fullbacks stayed close to Salah and Gakpo, with Le Normand monitoring Isak.

With Liverpool center-backs splitting wide, Alisson had time on the ball to prod it onto Salah. However, Nico Gonzalez retreating with Frimpong and operating down the left inside channel enabled him to collect Alisson’s pass and turn over. Atlético Madrid advanced the ball to the right side, where Simeone pulled out Robertson, and Raspadori attacked the byline to draw Van Dijk’s attention. As a result, Gallagher came from behind to exploit the space between Liverpool’s center-backs.

The visitors kept taking advantage of Liverpool’s 4-4-2 diamond shape. Griezmann and Raspadori, coming from high to low positions, tied Gravenberch’s and Szoboszlai’s hands in the middle of the park. Salah and Isak swung across the pitch to keep tabs on Atlético Madrid’s defenders. Consequently, Barrios and Gallagher outnumbered Wirtz, which allowed the former to cut through Liverpool’s block, sliding a through pass to Simeone. However, Barrios’ pass lacked weight, enabling Virgil Van Dijk to intercept it.

Both teams found inroads between the lines

Nearing the end of the first half, the visitors occasionally retreated to defend in a 5-4-1 low block. Frimpong’s high position and runs down the right inside channel forced Nico Gonzalez to withdraw to the backline. On the left half-space, Robertson being deep obliged Simeone to vacate his spot and step out. Hence, the space between Atlético Madrid’s lines got stretched for Isak to move deeper and pull Le Normand out of his position. In the meantime, Wirtz darted his body to the space behind the visitors’ right center-back to receive Isak’s pass and pick out Gakpo. The latter cut inside, and his service collided with Atlético Madrid’s traffic inside the box.

42nd minute: Liverpool buildup sequence. Simeone marks Robertson down the left inside channel. Virgil Van Dijk, unpressurized, slides the ball into Wirtz, who is in a one-on-one situation against Barrios in the middle of the park. The former dribbles past the latter and scampers forward until Le Normand steps up to contest the German midfielder. Wirtz combines with Isak and dashes into the space behind Le Normand. Oblak comes out and prevents Liverpool’s threat.

For Atlético Madrid, Javi Galán drifted inside to form a situational back three. As a reaction, Salah and Isak ran toward Galán and Le Normand, with Wirtz jumping from the midfield toward Lenglet. In the meantime, Raspadori dropped between the lines, forcing Van Dijk to step up and prevent Szoboszlai from getting overloaded. Giuliano Simeone responded by indenting behind the Dutch center-back and vacating the wide channel for Llorente to push on. Lenglet played the ball over the top to Simeone, who fed Llorente. The latter accessed a crossing position; however, the home team easily picked up the visitors’ crosses.

Two minutes until the end of the first half, Griezmann pinned Van Dijk, and Raspadori sneaked behind Szoboszlai down the right inside channel. Near the touchlines, Simeone came deep and dragged Robertson with him, whereas Barrios chipped the ball toward the runner in Raspadori, who squared the pass to Llorente. The latter reduced the deficit to one goal before halftime.

At the start of the second half, both contenders looked to exploit each other inside channels. The visitors relied on Simeone drawing Van Dijk upward to vacate the space for Raspadori to exploit. For the hosts, Salah stretching Atlético Madrid’s lines horizontally gave the chance for Wirtz to float down the right inside channel as Szoboszlai attracted Koke and Gallagher. From there, Wirtz penetrated the box and tended to square his passes. On the left, Robertson kept enticing Simeone to press him forward. Therefore, the former could pick out Gakpo in a one-on-one situation against Llorente. The Dutch winger curled the ball into runners coming late in the box.

Atlético attacks, Liverpool counters

Both managers made changes. Arne Slot brought in Jeremy Frimpong for Conor Bradley, Alexis Mac Allister replaced Cody Gakpo, and Hugo Ekitiké came on for Alexander Isak. Diego Simeone took off Antoine Griezmann and Conor Gallagher, inducting Alexander Sorloth and Nahuel Molina.

After the substitutions, Florian Wirtz operated as a left winger, and Liverpool lined up in a 4-3-3 out of possession. For the visitors, Molina hugged the touchlines, whereas Llorente drifted inside. On the left half-space, Szoboszlai engaged with Barrios, whilst Gravenberch functioned zonally in the center. On the right, Llorente tended to pull out Mac Allister with his channel runs. As a result, Koke remained free behind Ekitiké. Between the lines, Sørloth was able to create separation from the center-backs and drop to receive and access Molina near the touchlines. However, Liverpool dealt comfortably with Atlético Madrid’s crosses.

Liverpool decided to retreat and capitalize on the visiting team’s passive rest defense. To elaborate, Atlético Madrid attacked with two distant units as the center-backs stayed deep without closing off the gap between the midfielders to jump on following a possession loss. As a reaction, Liverpool midfielders tended to transition centrally, exploiting the hole in Simeone’s team.

Szoboszlai’s off-ball position allowed him to sprint and carry the ball down the central corridor until Lenglet decided to step up. In the meantime, Ekitiké and Salah stretched the visitors’ backline horizontally, permitting Szoboszlai to combine in a one-two with the former and move his body into the space generated centrally. During the process, Wirtz accompanied the Hungarian midfielder until they accessed the box and set Salah in a goal-scoring situation. Nonetheless, the Egyptian winger guided the ball toward the right post.

Overload to isolate was one of the visitors’ patterns to arrive at the penalty box. The Spanish team tended to overload the right side of the pitch to isolate Javi Galán on the left. Nico Gonzalez, with his inside channel runs, tended to find good situations to cross near the byline. Not only that, but Atlético Madrid tended to make capital out of Liverpool’s out-of-possession strategy to pull their defense apart and create wide inroads.

71st minute: Koke pins Szoboszlai. To access Javi Galán, Nico Gonzalez comes short down the left inside channel, dragging with him Conor Bradley to lay the ball off to the left back. Giuliano Simeone has the license to roam across the pitch. Thus, he dashes behind Liverpool’s right back. However, Konaté shifts wide, shutting down Simeone near the touchlines.

From a throw-in routine, Javi Galán set Koke near the byline to pick out Simeone inside the box and then passed the ball to Barrios. The latter tried to curl it toward the right side of the net; however, his shot was deflected and ended up at Llorente’s feet at the edge of the box. He fired it toward the top left of the net, tying the score in the last ten minutes. Nevertheless, Virgil Van Dijk said the last words in injury time. Liverpool’s captain leaped around the penalty box to head Szoboszlai’s outswinging corner home.

Takeaways

Liverpool started the game on fire, with their right side’s dynamics giving them the edge to tear Atlético Madrid apart. Gradually, the visitors figured out inroads and weaknesses in Liverpool’s high press and low block to progress high up the pitch. Nonetheless, the Reds dealt with Atlético Madrid’s crosses with ease. In the second part of the game, Arne Slot’s men appeared keen to hurt Diego Simeone’s team on the counter, given the gaps they left between their players behind and ahead of the ball. Virgil Van Dijk’s late header dropped the curtain on one of the UEFA Champions League’s hectic nights. 

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