Marcos Llorente has scored four goals at Anfield, and Atletico lost both games
Liverpool open the Champions League league phase against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, with Andoni Iraola still on one win and Diego Simeone’s side coming off a 3-0 defeat in Bilbao.
Sep 8, 2026
Marcos Llorente has played at Anfield twice in the Champions League and scored four goals there. Atletico Madrid lost both games. He goes back on Wednesday night, 12.30am on Thursday in India, for the opening round of the league phase.
Two visits, four goals, no points
The first was 11 March 2020, the round of 16, when Llorente came off the bench and scored twice in extra time, the first of them off a poor Adrian clearance in the 97th minute. Alvaro Morata added a third and the holders went out 3-2 on the night, 4-2 on aggregate. Llorente liked the place enough to name his dog Anfield.
The second was September 2025, and it went the same way for him and the same way for his team. Andrew Robertson scored in the fourth minute and Mohamed Salah in the sixth, Llorente pulled one back in first-half stoppage time and levelled it in the 81st, and Virgil van Dijk headed in a corner two minutes into stoppage time to win it 3-2.
Four goals, two defeats. It is the sort of record that gets a player introduced on television by his goal tally and nothing else, and Diego Simeone will take it if the result changes this time.
Liverpool have won one league game under Andoni Iraola
Iraola replaced Arne Slot in June after three seasons at Bournemouth, where a sixth-placed finish took the club into Europe for the first time. His Liverpool start has been a slow one. Newcastle led twice at St James’ Park on the opening weekend before Dominik Szoboszlai equalised from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of stoppage time, and Nottingham Forest also led twice at Anfield in a 2-2 that left Forest unbeaten in their last three visits.
The first win came at Ipswich on 4 September, Alexander Isak scoring both goals. Bradley Barcola arrived from Paris Saint-Germain on 31 August for a guaranteed 106 million pounds that can reach a reported 123 million, which makes him the second most expensive signing Liverpool have made.
Two draws and a win is not a crisis after three matches. It is also not the start a new manager wants before a night when the opposition manager has been in his job since December 2011.
Atletico arrive after a 3-0 defeat at San Mames
Simeone’s side won 3-1 at Sevilla in late August and then lost 3-0 at Athletic Club on Saturday, with Nico Williams, Robert Navarro and Oihan Sancet scoring and Julian Alvarez left on the bench until the 58th minute. Unai Simon made five saves. Atletico had most of the ball and none of the goals.
That is the version of Atletico that struggles at Anfield. The other version reached the Champions League semi-finals last season and lost it 2-1 on aggregate to Arsenal, drawing 1-1 in Madrid and losing 1-0 in London to a Bukayo Saka goal. This is their 14th Champions League campaign in a row.
Liverpool have never lost their first European home game of a season
Ten wins and two draws from 12, going back through the European Cup years. Opta’s model gives Liverpool a 53 per cent chance on Wednesday and Atletico 23.5 per cent. Both of the last two meetings here fitted that until Llorente came on or came alive.
Real Madrid against Inter Milan, Porto against Manchester City and Club Brugge against Aston Villa are on Tuesday’s card. Wednesday brings Napoli against Arsenal and Barcelona against Feyenoord alongside this one.