Liverpool’s defensive challenges face Atlético Madrid at Anfield
Liverpool and Atlético Madrid meet again under the Anfield lights on Wednesday, a rerun of last season’s breathless Matchday 1 clash that finished 3-2 to the Reds. The cast has shifted, the benches have changed, but the themes feel familiar: Liverpool’s looseness without the ball and Diego Simeone’s instinct for punishment.
Liverpool still a work in progress
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool are nowhere near the finished article. Five points from their opening three Premier League games is respectable, yet the numbers underneath tell a more uneasy story.
They conceded two goals in each of their first two league fixtures, four in total, and drew both. The defence is being rebuilt on the fly. Ronald Araújo has been shunted out to right-back with Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni sidelined, and the back line is still learning each other’s movements.
A 2-0 win at Ipswich steadied the mood. Alexander Isak, finally looking like the striker Liverpool thought they had signed, helped himself to a brace at Portman Road, taking his tally to three goals in three league games this season. Cody Gakpo assisted all three of Isak’s strikes so far, a partnership that suddenly looks sharp rather than speculative.
Isak’s resurgence is stark. Four goals in 22 appearances last term; three in three already this time. He looks leaner, quicker, more decisive in the box. The one blot? His Champions League record: one goal in 13 appearances. For all his domestic form, Europe has not yet been his stage.
Iraola is still without Hugo Ekitike, Bradley and Leoni, while Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo are not registered for Champions League duty. The squad feels competitive but thin in certain areas, especially if the tempo spikes.
Expected Liverpool XI: Alisson; Kerkez, Araújo, Jacquet, van Dijk; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Barcola; Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Atlético arrive wounded but dangerous
Atlético travel to Merseyside on the back of a jarring 3-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao, yet they remain sixth in La Liga with seven points from four games. Simeone has seen worse starts. He has also seen this stadium before and left it with scars – and smiles.
His side won 3-2 at Anfield in 2019/20. Last season they came from 2-0 down here to rescue a result. Atlético know how to live in Liverpool’s chaos and twist it to their advantage.
Simeone is expected to hand Julián Álvarez his first start of the season, a significant attacking boost. Cristian Romero is pushing for his first start since joining the club and would bring bite and aggression to the back line. The club expects Álvarez to stay at least until the January window, ending any short-term uncertainty around his future.
They do have absentees: Alexander Sørloth is out with a thigh problem and Arnau Ortiz is suspended. Even so, Atlético’s attack carries weight. They have scored seven in their last four league matches and do not need many chances to hurt you.
Expected Atlético XI: Oblak; Llorente, Romero, Hancko, Grimaldo; Giuliano Simeone, Barrios, Hjulmand, Lookman; Baena, Álvarez.
Atlético scent weakness in Liverpool’s defence
This is where the tie feels tilted. Liverpool’s defensive shape is still forming; Atlético specialise in exploiting that kind of uncertainty.
Iraola’s side have already shown how open they can be when full-backs push on and the press isn’t perfectly timed. With Araújo covering at right-back and new partnerships in central defence, the gaps are there. Simeone’s teams are ruthless when they spot patterns like that.
The market effectively gives Atlético a 46.5% chance of avoiding defeat at Anfield. Given Liverpool’s fragility and Atlético’s track record in this fixture, that looks generous. Simeone’s men have never won a league-phase match against English opposition, but they do not need to win to justify faith here. A draw would be enough.
Isak’s form too hot to ignore
Despite the questions around Liverpool’s structure, the form of Isak is impossible to overlook.
Three goals in three Premier League games, two of them inside nine frantic minutes at Ipswich. His movement is sharper, his finishing cleaner, his confidence obvious. Gakpo’s understanding with him has accelerated quickly; their link-up is already a key part of Liverpool’s attack.
Atlético’s defence, meanwhile, is not settled. Conceding three at Bilbao exposed their own issues in transition and organisation. Romero’s potential inclusion brings aggression but also the risk of mistimed duels against a striker in rhythm.
Isak’s Champions League record remains underwhelming, yet the implied 47.6% chance of him scoring here feels low when judged purely on current form and the state of Atlético’s back line.
A tight, tense contest in store
For all the attacking talent on show, Liverpool’s biggest issue right now is chance creation. They sit 19th in the Premier League for big chances created: just four in three games. Brighton, by comparison, have carved out 15 in the same span.
That is a jarring statistic for a side boasting Florian Wirtz, Gakpo and Isak. The patterns are not quite there yet, the final pass too often delayed or misjudged.
Simeone will relish that. Pablo Barrios and Morten Hjulmand will patrol the spaces Wirtz loves to drift into, clogging the central lanes and forcing Liverpool wide. Behind them, Jan Oblak remains one of the most reliable goalkeepers in Europe, a calming presence when the box fills with bodies.
Atlético will not mind if this turns into a slow, narrow, attritional contest. They have enough threat through Álvarez and their wide players to steal moments on the break, but they will not open the game up for Liverpool’s forwards.
With the under 2.5 goals line effectively priced at a 42.2% chance, the expectation of a low-scoring, tactical battle feels reasonable. The scoreline many will gravitate towards is 1-1: tight, tense, decided by details rather than waves of chances.
Liverpool 1-1 Atlético Madrid? In a group stage that can quickly turn unforgiving, that kind of night at Anfield could say plenty about where both of these projects are really heading.
