Mohamed Salah continued his superb form as Liverpool made it three wins out of three in the group stage of the Champions League by beating Spanish champions Atletico Madrid 3-2 in their Group B match, a game of constant drama in Madrid, Spain yesterday.
In a frantic, fantastic match between teams that were dazzling in attack but vulnerable at the back, Liverpool saw an early two-goal lead wiped out by Antoine Griezmann’s double strike.
He was then shown a straight red card early in the second half, allowing Liverpool to reassert their authority and snatch a big win through Salah’s well-taken penalty, awarded for a clumsy barge on Diogo Jota by Mario Hermoso.
Jota almost turned villain, though, as his challenge on Jose Maria Gimenez resulted in a penalty being awarded, only for the referee to change his mind after being encouraged by Video Assistant Referee (W
VAR) to view the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
Earlier, Salah had given Liverpool the lead when his low finish at the end of a weaving run found the net off the toe of James Milner, before Naby Keita’s brilliant volley doubled Liverpool’s advantage.
Griezmann’s neat close-range finish then superb turn and shot across goalkeeper, Alisson restored parity, all before the break.
But the last word went to Salah, who is now Liverpool’s record goal-scorer in the Champions League, his two goals taking him to 31, one more than Steven Gerrard.
Liverpool are now unbeaten in 21 games in all competitions and continue to provide an attacking threat that opponents are rarely able to deal with.
