UCL: Van Dijk wins it late for Liverpool, Atletico coach Simeone gets red

Virgil van Dijk’s stoppage-time victor sparked a confrontation betwixt Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and Liverpool fans astatine Anfield arsenic the Reds opened their Champions League run with a melodramatic 3-2 triumph connected Wednesday.

Simeone was shown a reddish paper successful the aftermath of Van Dijk’s 92nd-minute header aft his broadside had travel from 2-0 down to level acknowledgment to a treble from Marcos Llorente.

Liverpool looked connected people to hitch the level with the struggling Spanish giants aft scoring doubly successful the opening six minutes.

Mohamed Salah outshone Alexander Isak connected his archetypal Liverpool commencement arsenic his free-kick deflected successful disconnected Andy Robertson earlier the Egyptian fired location himself.

Llorente was the scourge of Liverpool 5 years agone arsenic Atletico came from 2-0 down to triumph 3-2 astatine Anfield successful a contentious last-16 tie.

History was acceptable to repetition itself until this clip Liverpool grabbed the precocious victor that lit the fuse betwixt the location enactment and the visiting manager.

Simeone appeared to beryllium demanding the removal of 1 instrumentality successful peculiar adjacent aft helium was shown a reddish paper by Italian referee Maurizio Mariani.

Liverpool person present won each 5 of their opening Premier League and Champions League games with winning goals aft the 80th minute.

Isak made his debut aft becoming the astir costly subordinate successful English shot past pursuing his £125 cardinal ($170 million) determination from Newcastle.

– Salah connected opus –

Liverpool’s triumvirate of large wealth guardant signings, besides including Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, has astatine times near Salah connected the fringes of the enactment successful the opening weeks of the season.

But Salah was backmost to his champion connected Wednesday.

Robertson knew small astir his extremity arsenic Salah’s free-kick deed the Scotland skipper to wholly wrong-foot Jan Oblak.

Moments aboriginal Salah showed his speed, spot and speedy feet to spot disconnected 3 Atletico challenges and slot successful from Ryan Gravenberch’s pass.

Salah was adjacent to a stunning 3rd aft being sent wide by Wirtz’s done shot arsenic Liverpool looked acceptable to tally riot.

Isak’s deficiency of lucifer fittingness showed arsenic helium lasted little than an hr aft sitting retired pre-season astatine Newcastle to unit done his power to Anfield.

The Swede’s champion infinitesimal played successful Wirtz, who rounded Oblak but past near the decorativeness to Jeremie Frimpong, who failed to marque a existent connection.

Atletico person endured a torrid commencement to the campaign, winning conscionable 1 of their opening 4 La Liga matches.

Against the tally of play the visitors abruptly had a lifeline successful first-half stoppage clip erstwhile Llorente prodded a changeable into the acold corner.

Liverpool were astir made to rue a bid of chances to enactment the effect beyond uncertainty earlier Llorente struck again.

Salah came closest erstwhile helium deed the wrong of the station astatine the extremity of a superb counter-attack involving Wirtz, Ekitike and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Despite not dropping a constituent successful the Premier League truthful far, chinks successful Liverpool’s armour person been exposed aft a immense summertime overhaul of the squad that cruised to the rubric past season.

Including the Community Shield decision by Crystal Palace, Slot’s men person present conceded 2 oregon much goals successful 4 of their opening six matches of the campaign.

There was immoderate luck to Atletico’s leveller arsenic Llorente’s volley deflected disconnected Alexis Mac Allister to permission Alisson Becker helpless connected 81 minutes.

But the stone coagulated antiaircraft organisation of Simeone’s champion Atletico sides is lacking successful his existent harvest and they failed to defy the Liverpool onslaught.

Van Dijk was near wholly unmarked to powerfulness successful Szoboszlai’s corner, causing the Argentine’s choler to boil over.

AFP

The station UCL: Van Dijk wins it precocious for Liverpool, Atletico manager Simeone gets red appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.