Jurgen Klopp gives his verdict as Liverpool win against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano
According to The Guardian, Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Liverpool defeated Atletico Madrid in a ‘real fight’ following their 3-2 win in the Champions League. Klopp insisted that this was an ‘important step’ in their journey to securing silverware this season.
The English club overcame Atletico in a hard-fought victory after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the first half. The Reds took control after Antoine Griezmann was sent off and won a penalty when Mario Hermoso fouled Diogo Jota in the box.
Mohamed Salah scored from the spot completing his double on the night as he scored the winner. He also became the only player to score in nine consecutive matches for the visitors.
While Klopp admits that the win was far from pretty, the win could kickstart a dominant run of results for the Merseysiders. The ability to win ugly when not at your best is the true test for a side aiming to secure the top prizes.
“The dirty points are often the most important, and they were dirty tonight. That wasn’t our best football but it was an important step.”
The Merseysider goes on to say that the team had ‘completely mismanaged’ a 2-0 lead by giving away ‘cheap goals’. He also gave his thoughts on the red card decision which gave them a huge advantage.
“Yes it’s accidental, but he kicked him in the face. This was a real fight. We saw that tonight and we will see it again in two weeks’ time.”
Klopp admits that while Griezmann’s tackle was unfortunate, the Frenchman still ended up kicking Firmino in the face with the high boot. Both the sides will now resume the ‘fight’ when they meet at Anfield in two weeks time.
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As the German manager said, this was a hard-fought victory against the La Liga champions even if the team was not at their best. They would be hoping to provide a better showing in the reverse fixture which is set to take place at Anfield in two weeks.
Whatever be the verdict, Liverpool have exorcised one demon from their past by beating the side that knocked them out in 2020. Doing the double will put a serious damper on Atletico’s chances of making the last 16.
