Liverpool fell behind in their Champions League last 16 tie to Atletico Madrid.

Saul Niguez opened the scoring in the fourth minute after he was able to pounce on a loose ball in the Reds’ penalty area to prod home from close range.

A dogged performance from Diego Simeone’s side saw the reigning European champions frustrated in front of goal on an uncharacteristically flat night.

Here were the key talking points from the Wanda Metropolitano:

Reds need history to repeat itself

 

Liverpool were always going to have to produce something special on their return to the Wanda Metropolitano after last season’s Champions League final.

Memories made in the Spanish capital just eight months ago invariably meant this last 16 first leg encounter with Atletico Madrid would pale in comparison.

Diego Simeone’s side clearly were in no mood to indulge the European champions’ hopes of a nostalgic stroll by producing such a scrappy affair.

An early Saul Niguez strike ensures that the Reds will have it all to do in four weeks’ time when Jurgen Klopp will hope that history can again repeat itself.

The last time Liverpool left Spain empty-handed, they had to overturn another first-leg deficit in the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition.

Everybody knows what happened next and they will need to repeat their historic semi-final feat against Barcelona when Atleti arrive in L4 on March 11.

Back four produce a bum note

 

One of the great hallmarks of Liverpool’s unrelenting surge towards a first Premier League title since 1990 has been their largely water-tight defence.

When they are in perfect sync, few attacks can find a way past the combination of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson.

Yet that formidable backline found itself routinely exposed at the Wanda, not least when Niguez was allowed to seize upon a loose ball to open the scoring.

A slight drop-off in performance was always inevitable heading into the final months of a season where Liverpool have scaled such incredible heights.

Few, however, anticipated that they would appear so collectively flat in doing so.

Klopp finally meets his match

 

Few can rival the touchline energy of Klopp on football’s biggest stages.

But the Liverpool manager appears to have finally met his match in the form of Simeone, who perennially appeared like a man possessed during this clash.

‘El Cholo’ brought his A-game against the runaway Premier League leaders; wildly gesticulating to fire up the home crowd at each possible opportunity.

Normality is likely to be restored when the Rojiblancos travel to Merseyside for the return fixture as Klopp will be back in his element in front of familiar faces.

The power of Anfield tends to bring the best out of the German, whose chest-thumping displays have become intertwined with the match day experience.

It is likely to see Simeone screaming into a vortex but he can still lay claim to besting his opposite number on and off the pitch, if only for a solitary evening.

Ref injustice strikes again

 

The manner of Liverpool’s defeat may have come as a surprise but the events surrounding should not after the referee’s identity was revealed in the build-up.

Szymon Marciniak drew Klopp’s ire during last season’s group stage for failing to hold Neymar’s play-acting to account in a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Once more, the Polish official found himself falling into a familiar trap as Atleti’s players appealed for fouls at every turn even when Liverpool vied for possession.

Marciniak continued to find himself at the heart of the action despite refusing to grant the hosts their wish of seeing Sadio Mane sent off at the end of the first half.

He booked Klopp late on in the game for remonstrating as the Colchoneros earned another arguably undue advantage following a handball ruling.

Refereeing injustice has seldom featured in Liverpool’s story of the season until now. Mariciniak’s ‘homer’ display belatedly threw it back into the spotlight.