Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk scored a stoppage-time winner to halt Atletico Madrid’s fightback at Anfield in their Champions League Matchday one encounter.
Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah had put the hosts up early in an evening set up to be a rout, but right-back Marcos Llorente’s two strikes – one in first-half stoppage-time and the other in the second half, levelled proceedings.
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone was sent off at the end of the encounter after clashing with supporters behind his side’s dugout.
Slot reacts to new star
Liverpool boss Arne Slot struck a pleased demeanor in the aftermath, talking about how pleasantly surprised he was with the fitness and level of performance of new star signing, Alexander Isak.
“I was positively surprised by how fit he was during the 60 minutes,” Slot told Sky Sports. “That showed it might be different to sign a 20-year-old from a different league compared to a 25-year-old who is used to it.
“I was positively surprised by how fit he was. I was not surprised by the quality but it is always nice to see when a player starts how he started. Good start. Only 60 minutes.
“You can tell David [Moyes] he is not going to play 90 minutes [against Everton].
“I’m really happy he could start today. That’s why we didn’t play him against Burnley. He was good today and when Hugo (Ekitike) came in, he was a big factor also.
“We have two great No 9s and we’re going to use them, both of them, throughout the whole period they’re here.”
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Mentality the key
Slot pointed to his side’s mentality and resilience as a key cog in their ever-growing winning machine, one which all but ensures they get the result every time they play.
“If you want to beat a team like Atletico, which is known and has an unbelievable mentality, you have to beat them with their own weapon as well and that is mentality,” he told TNT Sports.
“I think that’s what we showed again today, that we can beat them also by mentality. But I think we should have made it easier for ourselves.”
Simeone sees red
Simeone said that his actions prior to being sent off by referee Maurizio Mariani came as a result of being insulted constantly over the course of the 90 minutes.
“They were shouting insults through the whole game from behind the bench and I cannot say anything as I am a coach,” he said.
“Obviously, my reaction is not justifiable; I insulted him. But it was 90 minutes of being insulted the whole time then you turn around, when your opponent has scored, and they are still insulting you. It is not that easy.”
Simeone believes there should be consequences for fans that become overly insulting in the crowd, and hopes that Liverpool will take action to address this.
“I hope that a team like Liverpool can improve that part,” he said.
“When they identify the person who did this, it should have its consequences.
“But the person who needs to stay calm, and take the insults, is me. In my place you just have to take it.”
On the manner of the disparaging remarks made towards him, Simeone refused to be overly upfront about the specifics of the situation, saying: “I am not really going to get into the exact nature of the insults. I don’t want to get into that discussion.
“I know what went on behind the manager’s bench. I cannot solve society’s problems in one press conference. I have to live with it because it happens all the time.”
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A ‘giant’ cemented
Jamie Carragher sung the praises of Van Dijk after the match, putting him in and amongst some of Liverpool’s greatest ever players to feature in the club’s history.
“I don’t like describing Van Dijk as the best centre-back,” Carragher said on CBS. “At Liverpool, a lot of people get called legends because they’ve won the league or the Champions League. There are lots of them.
“But if you want to differentiate, and I call them giants of the club like Gerrard, Dalglish, Hansen, Barnes, Souness and Salah, the top seven or eight players at Liverpool, he is right in the middle of that.
“He’s not at the bottom of the list I can assure you. He will go down as one of the greatest players to ever play for Liverpool. Not one of the greatest centre backs, one of the greatest players.”
This result for the Reds against Atletico marks the fifth time this season Slot’s side has scored late to secure victory in thrilling fashion.
Liverpool host Everton next in the Premier League for a nail-biting early kick-off clash this weekend on Saturday, September 20.
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Geoffrey H. Latayan 
Vivien Bernardino