Liverpool maintained their unbeaten start under Andoni Iraola after coming from behind to defeat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their opening Champions League fixture.
Marcos Llorente continued his remarkable scoring record at Anfield by giving Atletico the lead, but Dominik Szoboszlai restored parity shortly before the break.
Alexis Mac Allister then completed Liverpool’s comeback five minutes into the second half, securing all three points for the hosts. However, the victory was slightly dampened by an injury suffered by £123m signing Bradley Barcola.
Anfield erupted after just 15 seconds when Szoboszlai immediately won possession following kick-off before finding Alexander Isak, whose effort went wide of the left post.
Julian Alvarez tested Alisson Becker shortly afterwards, while Barcola, making his first start since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain, brilliantly controlled Szoboszlai’s pass down the right before forcing Jan Oblak into a save from a difficult angle.
Atletico opened the scoring in the 17th minute after exposing Liverpool’s defence. Alvarez’s pass caught Milos Kerkez off guard, allowing Llorente to race through and finish past Alisson.
The Liverpool goalkeeper was called into action again, producing an excellent save to keep out Alvarez’s long-range attempt.
The Reds eventually found an equaliser five minutes before half-time. Ronald Araujo produced a superb flick inside the area for Szoboszlai, who calmly rolled the ball beyond Oblak.
Liverpool then completed the turnaround shortly after the restart. Following a rapid counter-attack led by Florian Wirtz, Barcola narrowly missed the target before Mac Allister unleashed a powerful left-footed effort into the net in the 50th minute.
Barcola was subsequently forced off after appearing to suffer an injury while making a run off the ball. His departure allowed Atletico to gain more control, although Alvarez failed to seriously trouble Alisson after finding space on the edge of the box.
Liverpool survived Atletico’s pressure and finished the match strongly. Isak saw his effort blocked by Robin Le Normand, while Araujo narrowly missed the target with a flick from Szoboszlai’s corner.
The hosts thought they had scored a third in the 89th minute when Jeremie Frimpong converted after Victor Munoz’s effort had been saved, but Liverpool ultimately settled for a 2-1 victory after seeing out five minutes of added time.
Anfield nemesis Llorente silenced by Liverpool’s comeback heroes
Iraola, who made three Champions League appearances for Athletic Club during the 2014-15 campaign, experienced the competition from the dugout for the first time and guided Liverpool to a winning start, despite a difficult contest.
Llorente once again proved to be a major threat against Liverpool. Only Robert Lewandowski against Crvena Zvezda and Cristiano Ronaldo against Ajax have scored more Champions League away goals against a single opponent than Llorente’s five against the Reds.
However, Liverpool had their own standout performer in Szoboszlai. The Hungarian has now recorded 10 Champions League goal involvements since the start of last season — six goals and four assists — twice as many as any other Liverpool player.
He has also produced three goals and three assists across his last six European appearances at Anfield.
Mac Allister was equally influential in midfield, enjoying an impressive resurgence under Iraola following a difficult 2025-26 campaign. Five of his 20 Liverpool goals in all competitions have come from outside the box, while his five won duels were the most by any player in the match.
The victory also extended Liverpool’s winning run against Atletico to four consecutive Champions League matches.
The Reds deserved the result, finishing with 14 shots and an expected-goals tally of 1.68, compared with Atletico’s nine attempts and 0.81 xG.
