Liverpool 2 - 1 Atletico Madrid: Szoboszlai and Mac Allister turn around the Anfield opener

Liverpool began their UEFA Champions League league phase with a measured Anfield recovery on Wednesday night: behind after 17 minutes, level in the 40th minute, ahead in the 50th minute, and composed enough to protect the lead.

Final score: Liverpool 2 - 1 Atletico Madrid. Three points for A. Slot, frustration for D. Simeone, and another chapter in a fixture that rarely gives either side much comfort.

Atletico Madrid struck first. Marcos Llorente scored in the 17th minute, assisted by Julián Álvarez, and for a while that looked like the away approach Simeone would have wanted: controlled possession, a compact shape, Álvarez as the release point, and Llorente providing the early thrust that put Liverpool under pressure.

Liverpool did not panic. Alexis Mac Allister was booked in the 28th minute for a foul, but he stayed in the game mentally and tactically. Dominik Szoboszlai pulled Liverpool level in the 40th minute, assisted by Ronald Araujo. Then Mac Allister completed the turnaround in the 50th minute, assisted by Alexander Isak.

That was the match. Not because Atletico stopped having the ball — they had more of it — but because Liverpool had the better zones, the better shot profile, and the cleaner moments.

The shapes

A. Slot set Liverpool up in a 4-2-3-1:

Alisson Becker; R. Araújo, J. Jacquet, V. van Dijk, M. Kerkez; D. Szoboszlai, A. Mac Allister; B. Barcola, F. Wirtz, R. Ngumoha; A. Isak.

D. Simeone used a 3-4-2-1 for Atletico Madrid:

J. Oblak; Marc Pubill, C. Romero, D. Hancko; Marcos Llorente, Pablo Barrios, Koke, G. Simeone; Lee Kang-In, Álex Baena; J. Álvarez.

The contrast was clear. Atletico wanted the extra line in midfield, passing volume, and controlled territory. Liverpool wanted access to the box. That was the difference.

Atletico finished with 55% possession and 515 total passes, but Liverpool produced 14 shots, including 12 inside the box. Slot’s side did not need to dominate the ball to dominate the danger.

Szoboszlai was the game’s key operator. He scored in the 40th minute, but the goal was only part of it: 57 passes, 52 accurate, 5 key passes, and 4 successful dribbles from 6 attempts. He kept Liverpool connected when Atletico tried to make the match slow and narrow.

Mac Allister changed the emotional temperature. Booked in the 28th minute, he could easily have been forced into caution. Instead, he kept arriving in the right spaces, made 2 key passes, won 6 of 10 duels, and scored in the 50th minute. Slot then removed him in the 69th minute, with Ryan Gravenberch coming on — a sensible timeline once Liverpool had the lead and Mac Allister was carrying a yellow card.

Isak mattered without scoring. His assist for Mac Allister in the 50th minute gave Liverpool the lead, and his movement helped keep Atletico’s back three occupied. Ronald Araujo also had a direct hand in the comeback, assisting Szoboszlai in the 40th minute.

For Atletico, Álvarez was the danger. He assisted Llorente in the 17th minute, had 3 shots on goal, and remained Simeone’s sharpest forward reference. Llorente also gave Atletico more than the goal: 5 tackles, 5 duels won from 7, and the early run that changed the opening phase. Pablo Barrios was useful too, with 2 key passes and 3 successful dribbles from 5 attempts, but Atletico’s good work too often ended before the final action.

Match timeline

• 17th minute: Marcos Llorente scored for Atletico Madrid, assisted by Julián Álvarez.
• 28th minute: Alexis Mac Allister was shown a yellow card for a foul.
• 40th minute: Dominik Szoboszlai scored for Liverpool, assisted by Ronald Araujo.
• 50th minute: Alexis Mac Allister scored for Liverpool, assisted by Alexander Isak.
• 51st minute: Marc Pubill was shown a yellow card for a foul.
• 59th minute: Atletico Madrid made a double change, with Álex Grimaldo replacing Lee Kang-In and Ademola Lookman replacing Koke.
• 60th minute: Liverpool responded, with Jeremie Frimpong replacing Rio Ngumoha and Víctor Muñoz replacing Bradley Barcola.
• 69th minute: Ryan Gravenberch replaced Alexis Mac Allister.
• 73rd minute: Jonathan David replaced Álex Baena for Atletico Madrid.
• 77th minute: Robin Le Normand replaced Cristian Romero and Morten Hjulmand replaced Pablo Barrios.
• 88th minute: Lewis Koumas replaced Alexander Isak and Konstantinos Tsimikas replaced Milos Kerkez.

The numbers

This was not a possession win for Liverpool. It was a territory and chance-quality win.

Atletico’s 5 offsides told part of the story: they kept trying to stretch Liverpool, but too many moves broke before they could become clean chances. Liverpool, meanwhile, turned fewer passes into more pressure, especially around Oblak’s box. Barcola had 3 shots, 2 on goal, before being replaced in the 60th minute. Wirtz added 3 key passes, even without a direct goal contribution.

Simeone’s substitutions made sense on paper. Grimaldo and Lookman arrived in the 59th minute, Jonathan David came on in the 73rd minute, and Le Normand and Hjulmand were introduced in the 77th minute. Atletico had options, possession, and enough technical quality. What they lacked was a second decisive action after the Álvarez-to-Llorente opener.

Liverpool had theirs.

What it means

Liverpool sit 9th in the league phase table after matchday one, on 3 points with a +1 goal difference. Atletico Madrid are 29th, still on 0 points after an away defeat that will irritate Simeone because the structure was there, but the punishment was too soft at both ends.

Elsewhere in the competition, PSG made the loudest opening statement in a 6 - 1 win over Slovan Bratislava, while Arsenal took a tighter route in Naples in their 1 - 0 win over Napoli. The league phase table is already taking shape, even if it is too early for firm conclusions.

For Liverpool, this was the cleanest kind of European opening night: not perfect, but resilient, with Szoboszlai and Mac Allister giving Slot control when the match could have turned. For Atletico, the next fixture already carries weight. The performance had enough to build on. The result did not.