Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Preview: Iraola's European Debut Against the Side He Never Beat
For the second season running, Liverpool and Atlético Madrid open their Champions League campaign against each other. Anfield hosts matchday one again, twelve months on from a 3-2 thriller that was settled two minutes into stoppage time. This time there is a new face in the home dugout: Andoni Iraola is taking charge of his first ever match in this competition, and his record against Diego Simeone reads one draw and three defeats. Both sides arrive short of their best — Liverpool unbeaten but drawing too often, Atlético fresh from a 3-0 hammering in Bilbao.
Two Teams Who Need a Result for Very Different Reasons
Iraola's Liverpool are still finding their shape. Two 2-2 draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest were followed by a 2-0 win at Ipswich Town on Friday, with Alexander Isak scoring twice in the opening ten minutes. It was the first clean sheet of the season, and the first evidence that the Basque coach's pressing and transition ideas are landing. The Swedish forward now has three goals in three league matches, a sharp contrast to an injury-disrupted first year at the club after his move from Newcastle United. Cody Gakpo has also started well with one goal and three assists.
Atlético's season read well until Saturday. A 2-0 win over Málaga, a 2-2 draw with Villarreal and a 3-1 away win at Sevilla had them unbeaten, before a second-half collapse at San Mamés: Nico Williams and Robert Navarro struck in quick succession and Oihan Sancet added a third in a 3-0 defeat. Simeone put it down to two minutes of inattention. It leaves them having conceded in three consecutive matches — the worst possible preparation for a trip to a ground where Liverpool have won 14 of their last 15 league-phase home games.
Head-to-Head: Nine Meetings, One Clean Sheet, and a Lot of Goals
| Date | Result | Competition / Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 2025 | Liverpool 3-2 Atletico | Champions League league phase · Anfield |
| 3 Nov 2021 | Liverpool 2-0 Atletico | Champions League group · Anfield |
| 19 Oct 2021 | Atletico 2-3 Liverpool | Champions League group · Metropolitano |
| 11 Mar 2020 | Liverpool 2-3 Atletico | Champions League round of 16 · Anfield |
| 18 Feb 2020 | Atletico 1-0 Liverpool | Champions League round of 16 · Metropolitano |
Liverpool have won each of the last three meetings, the last two of them at Anfield. Across all nine encounters the record is four wins for Liverpool, three for Atlético and two draws; at Anfield specifically Liverpool have three wins from five. Only once in those nine games has a side kept a clean sheet — Liverpool's 2-0 win in November 2021. Twelve months ago Atlético were two goals down inside six minutes, drew level through a Marcos Llorente brace, and were undone by Virgil van Dijk in the 92nd minute.
Four Things to Watch at Anfield
1. Iraola's first night in the competition
The Spaniard has managed twelve Europa League matches with AEK Larnaca back in 2018-19, but never a game in this tournament. His record against Atlético as a coach is one draw and three defeats from four attempts with Rayo Vallecano, and he faced them 24 times as a player with Athletic Club. Simeone, meanwhile, has met Liverpool five times for two wins and three defeats. This is also the seventh consecutive season in which Liverpool have drawn a club from Madrid in the Champions League — their 58th match against Spanish opposition, more than against any other nation.
2. Isak against a defence that has lost its shape
Atlético have conceded in each of their last three matches, and the Bilbao defeat came from a back line that was pulled apart in transition. Isak's movement — drifting off the shoulder, attacking the near post, running the channels — is precisely the profile that punished them on Saturday. If Liverpool can isolate him against a centre-back pairing that may again be without a settled partnership, the home side's clearest route to a goal is obvious. The question is whether Liverpool's own defence holds up at the other end.
3. Wirtz in the pocket, and Atlético's compact block
Florian Wirtz operating between the lines is Liverpool's answer to a Simeone side that will happily concede possession and squeeze the space in front of its own area. Atlético will try to make this slow and fractious; Liverpool have to resist forcing it. Patience, then intensity — that is the balance Iraola has been asking for, and it is the same balance his team got wrong in the two 2-2 draws that opened their league season.
4. A forward line that picks itself only if everyone is fit
Liverpool are without Hugo Ekitike with an Achilles problem, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley with knee injuries, Joe Gomez with a muscle issue and Vítězslav Jaroš with a knee complaint. Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo were left out of the European squad entirely. Bradley Barcola, a Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain who came off the bench at Portman Road, is pushing for a first start. Atlético travel without Alexander Sørloth, who has a thigh injury, and Arnau Ortiz, who is suspended. Julián Álvarez is yet to start a match this season.
Predicted Lineups
Liverpool
- Alisson
- Araújo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez
- Szoboszlai, Mac Allister
- Muñoz, Wirtz, Gakpo
- Isak
Ekitike, Leoni, Bradley, Gomez and Jaroš are all out; Chiesa and Endo are not in the European squad. Barcola came off the bench at Ipswich and could start on the left, with Gravenberch an option in midfield.
Atletico Madrid
- Oblak
- Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Grimaldo
- Giuliano Simeone, Barrios, Hjulmand, Lookman
- Baena, Lee Kang-in
Sørloth is injured and Ortiz suspended. Álvarez came off the bench at San Mamés and is pushing for a first start of the season, Jonathan David is yet to feature, and Cristian Romero is hoping for a full debut. If Koke starts he will reach 150 UEFA club appearances.
Key Battle: Isak Against Atlético's Back Line
Three goals in three matches is the headline, but the more relevant number for this game is Atlético's: three consecutive matches conceding. Simeone's side were structurally sound for an hour in Bilbao and then disintegrated, and the way they lost — turned around, dragged wide, exposed on the counter — maps almost exactly onto what Liverpool's front line does best. Isak's willingness to run the channels and Gakpo's habit of attacking the back post are the two movements that hurt them most.
The other side of it is that Liverpool have kept one clean sheet in nine attempts against Atlético, and none of their last 43 European matches have finished level. Something has to give. Ademola Lookman and Álex Baena, who has three goals and an assist already this season, carry the away threat, and Grimaldo against Liverpool's right side is where Atlético will look to build. Expect goals rather than a stalemate — no Liverpool league-phase or group-stage match has finished 0-0 in 81 attempts.
What to Wear on Champions League Night
League-phase opening night at Anfield: red across three sides of the ground, a block of red-and-white stripes in the corner. Whether you are backing the hosts or travelling from Madrid, here are the shirts that fit the occasion.
Liverpool
Swipe to browse 5 Liverpool shirts
Atletico Madrid
Swipe to browse 4 Atletico Madrid shirts
