By Daniel Ghorbal @GhorbalDan
The return to domestic football after an arduous international break has started off brilliantly for Liverpool, beating Watford 5-0 with talisman Mohamed Salah scoring yet another goal of the season contender in a convincing victory for the Reds.
Tuesday signals a return to the Champions League and a return to Madrid to face Atletico, the side who knocked out Liverpool in the 2019/20 season. Although overshadowed by the exterior circumstances at the time, this was a tie in which Atletico end up winning both legs, despite the performance on the night from Liverpool deserving more.
Fast forward to now, and both sides have a league title in their cabinets, both deserved thoroughly. Atletico, spearheaded by Luis Suarez, fought their way to the title last season and have started this campaign in a similar fashion. Although they have lost to Alaves in recent weeks, they are still showing sturdy resilience on a weekly basis and winning games with moments of quality.
Atletico’s side is scattered with quality and with 4 points from their opening two group stage games, this is another big chance for Liverpool’s hosts to stamp down their authority in what was labelled as the ‘Group of Death’. A Luis Suarez penalty in the depths of injury time was enough to win them the points away in Milan, a fixture that is notoriously difficult for sides across Europe. Performance on the night was far from spectacular, but Simeone’s nous at the highest level saw them through a difficult match.
At this stage of the competition and in a group of such difficulty, points on the board are far more important than performances, and this encounter with Liverpool strikes me as one in which neither side will care if performance levels are dropped as long as points are secured. It would be far from unrealistic to speculate that a winner from this match would most probably go on to qualify.
PREDICTED LINE UP
In the summer, Atletico had an excellent transfer window, signing Rodrigo de Paul, Matheus Cunha and most notably, Antoine Griezmann. They strengthened in areas that were slightly weak in the previous seasons, with goals never really free flowing despite the title winning success.
The additions of Cunha and Griezmann alongside Luis Suarez give Atletico the license to push on even further, and a strong Champions League campaign would be hugely beneficial for them. Slowly but surely, Simeone has built a squad that is able to compete on all fronts.
In previous seasons it seemed like he had a very reliable set of players that would rarely change, however now there are in excess of 20 players who are all capable of starting for the Spanish champions. Whether the likes of De Paul and Cunha will play on Tuesday is yet to be seen, but having reliable backups and competition amongst the squad is crucial in building a side who want relentless trophies.
Liverpool’s away record has been remarkable, scoring 3 or more goals in their last 7 trips on the road, but even Klopp himself has stated that the chance of this continuing in the Wanda Metrapolitano is unlikely. Atletico’s defensive solidity is what has seen them be so successful in the last 10 years, and in games of this calibre we have seen exactly what they are about. The first leg of the 2019/20 defeat was a 1-0 victory for Atletico and one where they defended superbly. A repeat of those performance levels on Tuesday will make it very difficult for Liverpool to come away with a good result.
By Daniel Ghorbal @GhorbalDan
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