Alexis Mac Allister delivered the perfect response to his contract frustrations by hammering home a spectacular winner as Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their Champions League opener at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
The Argentine midfielder had grabbed headlines the day before with a remarkably frank press conference, admitting he felt “sad” that the club had not tabled a new deal during the summer window. Still tied to Liverpool until 2028, the 27-year-old let his feet do the talking instead.
His thunderous left-footed effort from the edge of the area flew past Jan Oblak, who had absolutely no chance of keeping it out. The goal handed Andoni Iraola both his maiden home victory in charge of Liverpool and his first win in European competition as a manager.
Atletico took the lead through Llorente, whose extraordinary affinity with Anfield showed no signs of fading. The Spaniard, who famously named his dog after Liverpool’s ground following his brace there in 2020, has now netted five of his ten Champions League goals on Merseyside.
Milos Kerkez was at fault, losing track of Llorente as he latched onto a pass from Julian Alvarez — who was making his first start of the campaign for Atletico after a failed summer bid to join Barcelona.
Alisson kept out a long-range Alvarez effort before Liverpool drew level prior to the interval. Kerkez redeemed himself by winning possession back, and Ronald Araujo produced a clever back-heel to set up Szoboszlai, who applied a composed finish.
Alexis Mac Allister’s rocket in the first half gave Liverpool the win
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Barcola was handed his first start for Liverpool following his £123m transfer from Paris St-Germain, and the Frenchman offered tantalising glimpses of his ability with sharp movement and neat touches.
However, he squandered a golden chance shortly after the restart, firing wide when well placed in front of the Kop. His miss mattered little — barely sixty seconds later, Mac Allister pounced on a loose ball and rifled an unstoppable shot into the net, with Alexander Isak credited with the assist.
Dominik Szoboszlai netted the equaliser for Liverpool
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Liverpool’s evening was briefly clouded by concern over Barcola, who collapsed to the turf without any contact around the hour mark. He was replaced by Victor Munoz, though the injury did not appear to be serious.
Iraola’s side have now gone four matches without defeat since his appointment, though a recurring pattern of falling behind persists — Liverpool have conceded the opening goal in three of those fixtures, including both Premier League draws.
Virgil van Dijk was visibly furious with Kerkez after the left-back’s lapse for Atletico’s opener, though the Dutchman himself turned in another authoritative defensive display.
Florian Wirtz threatened throughout, forcing a save from Oblak and creating the chance that Barcola wasted, while Araujo continued to impress at right-back after catching the eye against Ipswich at the weekend. The 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha started on his favoured left flank but found Llorente a tough opponent.
Liverpool return to Champions League action on 14 October with a trip to Austrian side LASK.
