September 18 – The UEFA Champions League (UCL) has returned with a bang, headlined by Liverpool’s victory over Atletico Madrid in a heated Anfield tie with seconds to spare – again.
The late goal prompted a red card meltdown from Atletico manager Diego Simeone.
The match looked to be a simple affair for the Reds, who went 2-0 up inside six minutes. A familiar headache in the form of Marcos Llorente, whose brace in 2020 knocked Liverpool out of the UCL in the final match before covid lockdown, returned with two goals of his own, taking the match down to the wire.
It was Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk who made the ultimate difference, scoring the winner in the second minute of stoppage time – making it five late winners in a row for Liverpool to open the season.
The match saw the debut of Premier League record signing Alexander Isak, who transferred to the Reds from Newcastle United for £125million on deadline day. Whilst unable to christen his first appearance with a goal, the Swede still looked sharp considering Arne Slot’s insistence that he’s not fully fit.
Van Dijk’s late goal caused Atletico’s technical area to erupt, as Simeone took serious issue with a Liverpool making derogatory remarks. The Argentine saw red and was promptly sent to the dressing room.
“We are in a place where we don’t have a right to reply or react and it is never good when we react as managers,” Simeone said. “But if there are comments against us, racism or insults, we can get angry or fight back so when we are getting insulted all the game, when they scored the third goal, he turned round and insulted me. I am a person, I am human.”
Simeone, who did not specify the comments were racist, said: “I am not going to get into the exact nature of the insults. I don’t want to get involved in that discussion. I have got to stay in my place. I know what went on behind the manager’s bench. I can’t solve society’s problems in one press conference. I have to live with it.”
Elsewhere in Europe last night, Bayern Munich got off to a winning start against Chelsea and reigning champions PSG thrashed Atalanta 4-0 in a statement victory. Last season’s runners-up Inter beat Ajax with a Marcus Thuram brace.
Tonight’s matches are headlined by Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the Etihad to face former club Manchester City with Napoli. Also in the lineup are Newcastle vs Barcelona, Frankfurt vs Galatasaray, Sporting vs Kairat Almaty, Club Brugge vs Monaco and Copenhagen vs Bayer Leverkusen.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]