Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League as they lost to Atletico Madrid even during the second leg which was played at Anfield.
The Anfield outfit lost the game 3-2 despite them being on the front foot for almost all of the match. And had it not been for Oblak, the home side should have walked away with a relatively easy win.
Atletico Madrid defended as if their lives depended on this game and unlike Liverpool, Simeone’s side took most of their chances and performed the ultimate smash and grab.
But despite such a fine tactical masterclass, Graeme Souness has claimed after the game, that the Spanish side hung on for most of the match and that they were lucky to go through.
“I accept you can play defensively and win games of football,” said Souness, as posted YouTube.
“What I didn’t like about Atletico is that they defended really, really well to a man and they put their body on the line, time and time again – but you have to play a bit, haven’t you, when you defend?!
“It’s not just about hanging on the way they hung on. It’s a very dangerous game to play. 99 times out of 100, they don’t get that type of result going to Anfield. No, it’s not a bad night for football, but this is nothing new from Madrid. They are struggling in their own league and they are not the team they were a few years ago.
This scenes will be iconic.
Wait for Llorente 😅 pic.twitter.com/l5tvOR2oL3
— Jomblo Football (@JombloFootballs) March 12, 2020
“This man [Simeone] gets them playing a brand of football which has caused them to come up short many, many times. It’s not a brand of football that I would enjoy or endorse. But it’s been effective tonight. However, it has mostly been down to Liverpool not taking their chances. They rode their luck enormously tonight.
“I would never be in charge of a team that would want to play like that. If you are stuck with a group of players and you end up playing like that, you must say to yourself, ‘we really have to be lucky every time we go out to play to play like that’ – I think anyone going down that road and playing like that has to be a lucky manager – you have to say they were lucky tonight.”
Is Souness right about Atletico Madrid?
Yes, Atletico Madrid did have a few instances when the luck was on their side but we don’t understand what Souness is so mad about. It’s not like the La Liga side suddenly came up with this ultra-defensive plan just before the night of the second leg.
This is how Atletico Madrid play in almost every high profile match and before the Anfield outing Diego Simeone had made it clear how his team will be playing.
So in theory, Jurgen Klopp had a fairly long time to chalk out his plans on how to break down the Atletico Madrid defence. But sadly, his players could not map out that plan on the pitch.
