Liverpool made a dramatic start to their Champions League campaign with a stoppage-time winner against Atletico Madrid in a pulsating encounter at Anfield.

New signing Alexander Isak made his long-awaited debut for the Reds, but it was veteran defender Virgil van Dijk who delivered the decisive blow in added time, ensuring Arne Slot's side claimed all three points after letting a two-goal lead slip.

Mohamed Salah was at the heart of Liverpool’s explosive start. The Egyptian forward opened the scoring just four minutes in when his free-kick took a wicked deflection off Andrew Robertson to deceive Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Two minutes later, Salah was on target again, coolly slotting home after a slick one-two with Ryan Gravenberch.

Atletico responded on the stroke of half-time, as Marcos Llorente squeezed a low shot under Alisson amid Liverpool protests for offside.

Isak, still regaining match sharpness, was substituted after 58 minutes as Liverpool pressed for a third. Salah came agonisingly close to doubling his tally, striking the post after excellent link-up play with Florian Wirtz.

However, Atletico drew level with nine minutes remaining. Llorente, who famously netted twice in a Champions League knockout tie at Anfield in March 2020, repeated the feat when his volley deflected off Alexis Mac Allister and nestled in the net.

Yet Liverpool, as they had in all four of their Premier League wins this season, found a way late on. Van Dijk powered home a header from a corner in stoppage time, sparking wild celebrations among the Anfield faithful.

Tensions boiled over in the closing moments as Atletico coach Diego Simeone was shown a red card after appearing to clash with supporters behind his technical area.

Source: BBC Sport

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