The Round of 16’s first leg began with two matches. Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund vs PSG. Liverpool ultimately lost to Atletico Madrid in the first leg losing 1-0.

First Half

Atletico Madrid Early Goal

Saúl Ñíguez secures and an early goal for Atletico Madrid

Despite Liverpool being favorites to win the match, Atletic Madrid started off well. Pushing forward and challenging Liverpool, with Madrid’s players going on the wings and delivering a cross into the box. In the 4th minute, Saúl Ñíguez secures a loose ball and hammers it into the net, giving Madrid an early goal to build on. Starting on the front foot, Madrid continued it in the first half with Madrid performing better than Liverpool in the midfield. Having an extra man in the midfield for Madrid with a 4-4-2 formation compared to Liverpool 4-3-3 gave them the edge.

More Atletico Madrid Chances

More chances opened up for Atletico Madrid in the first half. With a good chance coming in later. Virgil Van Dijk made a mistake in clearing the ball. Leading to Morata recovering the ball and running it into the box, but couldn’t finish with a block from Allison. Another good cross came in from Madrid, but good defending from Robertson cleared it.

Few Liverpool Chances

Madrid’s defense remained compact for much of the game

Liverpool continued with a lack of chances in the first half. A good chance appeared for Mo Salah after a mistake from the Atletico Madrid defense. Running it down Salah passed it to Firmino who played it offside. Minutes later Firmino was able to twist and turn past the Madrid defense. With the ball given to Mo Salah, his shot was crucially headed away by Felipe.

Second Half

Second Half Substitutions

The second half began with two substitutions. Atletico Madrid saw Lemar leave for Llorente. With Liverpool subbing Sadio Mane off for Divock Origi.

More Liverpool Chances and Injury Woes

Jordan Henderson received an injury and was subbed off

Liverpool saw more presence in the final third, at the beginning of the second half. They encountered problems getting a ball to the right player in. With one good chance created by Joe Gomez’s ball which Mo Salah headed wide. Divock Origi looked uncomfortable in the beginning but managed to bring a good ball in for Henderson. Who hits it just wide. Henderson’s captain for Liverpool was later subbed off after a potential injury, replaced by James Milner.

Final Minutes

We saw an Atletico Madrid well organized defensively slowing down Liverpool. This continued later on, but with Madrid’s head coach spurred the fans on creating an atmosphere. That atmosphere continued throughout the game until the end with Atletico Madrid securing the first-leg win. On the other side, it was clear to see a Liverpool side getting more frustrated after giving away fouls. Jurgen Klopp got in trouble later receiving a yellow card. This incident was caused after his reaction to the referee not calling a foul on a handball.

Final Thoughts

Madrid secure a first-leg win

This Liverpool was far from its best, but the credit should go to Simeone and his side for playing incredibly in the defense. Liverpool failed to challenge Dan Oblak once, with eight shots they hit zero on target. Even with 73% possession, during parts of the game, Liverpool was consistently getting pressured. As said earlier, Atletico Madrid against Liverpool was defensively compact and effective.

Despite the first leg, Liverpool has the potential to do well in the second leg in their fortress, Anfield