Alexis Mac Allister produced a stunning late winner as Liverpool began their Champions League campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid at Anfield.
The Argentine midfielder capped an impressive individual performance with a superb strike from outside the box to complete Liverpool’s comeback after Marcos Llorente had put Atletico ahead.
Dominik Szoboszlai had restored parity before Mac Allister delivered the decisive moment, giving Andoni Iraola his first home victory as Liverpool manager and his first Champions League win in charge of the club.
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Mac Allister had been at the centre of attention before kick-off following his candid press conference on Tuesday, where he revealed that he was disappointed Liverpool had not offered him a new contract during the summer.
The 27-year-old, whose current deal runs until 2028, responded in the best possible fashion on the pitch.
After Atletico conceded possession following the restart, Mac Allister found himself in space outside the box and unleashed a powerful left-footed effort that flew beyond goalkeeper Jan Oblak and into the net.
The goal completed a memorable night for the midfielder and gave Liverpool three valuable points in their opening Champions League fixture.
Liverpool, who remain unbeaten under Iraola, were forced to come from behind once again after conceding the opening goal.
Atletico struck first when Milos Kerkez failed to track Llorente, allowing the Spanish midfielder to meet Julian Alvarez’s pass before calmly finishing past Alisson.
The goal continued Llorente’s remarkable record at Anfield.
He famously scored twice at the stadium in 2020 as Diego Simeone’s Atletico eliminated Liverpool from the Champions League. Remarkably, five of Llorente’s 10 Champions League goals have now come at Liverpool’s home ground.
Liverpool responded strongly before half-time.
Kerkez won possession brilliantly before Ronald Araujo produced a clever back-heel to set up Szoboszlai, who made no mistake with a composed finish to bring the Reds level.
Alisson also made an important intervention earlier in the half, denying Alvarez from distance as Atletico looked to extend their advantage.
Liverpool started the second half brightly and had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Bradley Barcola, making his first Liverpool start since his reported £123 million move from Paris Saint-Germain, fired wide.
The miss proved costly as Mac Allister struck just a minute later to put Liverpool ahead.
There was a brief concern for Liverpool when Barcola went down with cramps and was forced off in the 60th minute, but Iraola’s side remained composed to see out the match.
The victory gives Liverpool an important early advantage in their Champions League campaign and extends their unbeaten start under their new manager.
Liverpool will return to Champions League action away against LASK on October 14 as they look to build on their opening-night victory.
Champions League Wednesday results:
Barcelona 5-1 Feyenoord
Stuttgart 3-1 Viking
Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 Slovan Bratislava
Liverpool 2-1 Atletico Madrid
Sporting 3-1 Galatasaray
Napoli 0-1 Arsenal
Tuesday Results:
Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
AEK Athens 1-0 LASK
Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal
Porto 0-2 Manchester City
Lille 2-3 Real Betis
Playing today, Thursday:
PSV Eindhoven vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Fenerbahçe vs Roma
Bayern Munich vs Bodo/Glimt
Manchester United vs Sabah
Slavia Prague vs Lens
Como vs RB Leipzig