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Liverpool 2-3 Atletico Madrid (2-4 aggregate): Marcos Llorente brace sends LaLiga side through
Liverpool's reign as European champions came to an end at the hands of Atletico Madrid as a 3-2 home defeat saw them exit 4-2 on aggregate after extra time.
In a tale of two goalkeepers, the LaLiga side's Jan Oblak showed why he is one of the world's best by single-handedly holding the visitors at bay in the second half as shots rained down on his goal with the tie level on aggregate at 1-1 after Georginio Wijnaldum's opener.
By contrast Adrian, the goalkeeper who did not have a club in the summer and who was standing in for the injured Alisson Becker, had a shocking nine minutes in extra time with his error leading to Marcos Llorente's goal after Roberto Firmino's first at Anfield since April had put Liverpool ahead in the tie for the first time.
The Spaniard then seemed slow to react to Llorente's long-range effort, which left Jurgen Klopp's side needing two goals in the final 15 minutes.
For once Anfield could not deliver one of its famous comebacks as Klopp lost his first two-legged tie as Liverpool manager at the 11th attempt, with Alvaro Morata adding a third in the 120th minute.
In truth it should never have got that far and would not have one had it not been for Oblak.
After Diego Costa fired into the side-netting after just 14 seconds the direction of travel was mainly towards the visitors' goal, although Simeone's side did enjoy a spell of possession midway through the half which succeeded in quelling the crowd.
It succeeded in stunting the Reds' momentum which had been growing with Oblak saving from Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mane and Alexander-Arnold as the return from injury of captain Jordan Henderson immediately made Liverpool look a different side.
Atletico offered one more threat, Angel Correa heading wide from a corner, before the gamesmanship broke out with players crowding referee Danny Makkelie in an attempt to get Alexander-Arnold booked and Simeone looking to get in the ear of the fourth official at every opportunity.
But the tension was building, with Liverpool's right side their most profitable avenue of attack as Oxlade-Chamberlain drove forward and Alexander-Arnold, given plenty of time and space to whip in cross after cross, stood out.
๐ช ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐!
โ Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) March 11, 2020
โฝ๏ธ The midfielder heads Liverpool into the lead at Anfield!#LFC | #UCL | #LIVATL pic.twitter.com/N1QEfaz036
So it was no surprise when one of that pair, Oxlade-Chamberlain, produced a brilliant cross on the run from the byline for Wijnaldum to head down and away from Oblak a minute before the break.
It was his fourth goal in nine Champions League appearances - which included two in May's famous 4-0 comeback against Barcelona - having scored three in 33 in the Premier League during that time.
The Atletico goalkeeper was back in employment in the second half saving a weak shot from Mohamed Salah, cutting in on his left foot, close-range strikes from Mane and Roberto Firmino and one further out from Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Costa was replaced by Llorente after failing to test Adrian or do the other part of his game and annoy his opponents and the best connection he had all night was when he booted a rack of water bottles in frustration on his way to the bench.
But while Oblak was giving a commanding performance in front of the Kop, Adrian was less convincing after being fortunate to escape after parrying Joao Felix's shot into the path of Correa.
Seeing that fragility prompted Saul Niguez to attempt to lob the Liverpool goalkeeper from well inside his own half but the ball drifted wide.
Robertson's header against the crossbar re-established the natural order, with Alexander-Arnold's inswinging corner almost palmed into his own net by the otherwise impeccable Oblak, who then denied Alexander-Arnold and Wijnaldum as the saves kept coming.
Liverpool resorted to the spectacular in an attempt to beat the Slovenian, with Mane's two overhead kicks and Salah's cut-inside-and-shot all off target.
Niguez's header was the last touch of regulation time and although the ball hit the back of the net he was offside.
๐ฑ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ผ๐!
โ Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) March 11, 2020
๐ It's a shocker from the Liverpool goalkeeper and Atletico have grabbed a goal in extra-time!#UCL | #LIVATL pic.twitter.com/vrcZffEX8J
Four minutes into extra time Firmino, poor all game by his standards, enjoyed a huge stroke of luck as his header from a cross by Wijnaldum, who by contrast got better as time went on, hit a post but rebounded straight back for him to side-foot inside the opposite upright.
However, a duffed kick from Adrian straight to Joao Felix led to Llorente's first and the substitute found the same corner from a counter-attack just before the interval and Liverpool, uncharacteristically, went out with a whimper.
Match highlights
Opta facts
- This was the first time Liverpool have failed to progress from a two-legged tie in European competition (inc. qualifiers) under Jurgen Klopp, having previously been successful in each of the previous 10.
- Liverpool have lost a home European game at Anfield for the first time under Jurgen Klopp โ with this their first defeat at home in Europe since October 2014.
- Liverpool have fallen at the last 16 stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2006 (v Benfica), also as the reigning champions after lifting the trophy in 2005 at this seasonโs final destination - Istanbul.
- Atlรฉtico Madrid have progressed from five of their previous six Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg, failing only in last seasonโs last 16 against Juventus (2-0 first leg, 0-3 second leg).
- Liverpool have lost both legs in a Champions League knockout tie for the first time since the last 16 stage in 2005-06 vs Benfica.
- This was the first ever Champions League game to see four goals scored in extra time.
- This was the first time in which Liverpool entered extra time in a Champions League match since April 2008 against Chelsea in the semi-final at Stamford Bridge, when they were also eliminated that evening.
- Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Liverpool's goalkeepers have made more errors leading to goals in the Champions League than any other team's keepers in this period (4 - Adrian x1 + Karius x3).
- Marcos Llorente is only the second ever Atletico player to score twice as a substitute in a Champions League game after Sergio Aguero vs Chelsea in November 2009.
- Roberto Firmino scored his first goal at Anfield in 20 games in all competitions, since netting vs Porto in April 2019 - 337 days ago.
- Four of Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldumโs five goals in the Champions League have come in the knockout rounds of the competition, scoring three headed goals in the process.
- Liverpoolโs Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has had a hand in four goals in the Champions League this season (3 goals, 1 assist) - his joint-best tally alongside 2014-15.