Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid: The Champions League Night Anfield Has Been Waiting For
Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 21:00 CET, Anfield. Andoni Iraola takes Liverpool into the Champions League for the first time as head coach, against the manager who has been doing this job since before Iraola finished his playing career at Athletic Club. Five jerseys to wear for a night that will tell us whether Liverpool’s record-equalling twentieth English title was a peak or a platform.
Result: Liverpool 2-1 Atletico Madrid
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Final score | Liverpool 2-1 Atletico de Madrid |
| Scorers | Marcos Llorente (Atletico); Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) |
| Player of the Match | Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) |
| Key stat | Liverpool came from behind to win; Simeone's side had led at Anfield at half-time of a European night |
| Next for both | Atletico host Manchester United, Liverpool travel to LASK — Matchday 2, 13-14 October |
Iraola's first Champions League night in the home dugout produced the comeback rather than the statement: Liverpool were second-best for half an hour, then turned it with the two midfielders who carry the most shirt demand at Anfield this season. Expect the Liverpool home shirt to hold its European-week spike, while Atletico's away moves to the 13 October home tie against Manchester United.
The Iraola era opens on the grandest stage
Iraola arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2026 with the words every new Liverpool manager says and few really mean: “I understand what is expected and I’m ready for the challenge.” The Basque had taken Bournemouth from mid-table safety to European qualification in three seasons, including a run of eighteen unbeaten matches that pushed the south-coast club into the Europa League places. He then arrived at Liverpool as the third head coach in three years, following Jurgen Klopp’s departure in 2024 and Slot’s dismissal after a title defence that petered out in the spring.
The squad Iraola inherited is still strong, but it is no longer the obvious best in England. Liverpool opened the Premier League season with two draws from three: a 2-2 at Newcastle on 23 August, a 2-2 at home to Nottingham Forest on 29 August, with the goals spread across Isak, Gakpo, Wirtz and Szoboszlai. Iraola has played a 4-2-3-1 with Alisson behind a back four of Frimpong, Jacquet, van Dijk and Kerkez, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in front, and a fluid front three of Wirtz, Gakpo and Isak. Salah has been used from the bench in both league games, a rotation choice that has not gone unnoticed.
The injury list is short but meaningful. Conor Bradley is out for three to nine months with a knee injury suffered in pre-season, Joe Gomez is nursing a muscle problem for another two to four weeks, and Hugo Ekitike has an Achilles issue that could sideline him for a month. Mac Allister and Munoz, the two South American signings, only rejoined the squad last week after their respective international runs to the quarter-finals of the Copa America and the European Championship.
Iraola is, however, a student of Anfield. He has been here as an opposition head coach seven times with Bournemouth, most memorably for the 4-2 opening-day loss at the start of the 2025-26 season, when Federico Chiesa scored late and Iraola said afterwards that the stadium was “crazy”. Wednesday is the first time he gets to be on the home side of that noise.
Simeone, still and forever
If Iraola is the new face, Diego Simeone is the oldest voice. The Argentine has now been in the Atletico dugout for longer than many of the players he has managed, and his tactical identity has not shifted: low block, narrow defensive lines, vertical transitions, and a midfield that breaks up play before it can begin. Atletico won La Liga in 2025-26 with the meanest defence in the division, and they have started 2026-27 with three wins, a draw and a defeat from their opening five league games, including a 3-1 win at Sevilla on 29 August and a comfortable 2-0 at home to Malaga the week before.
The team Simeone has built for Wednesday is recognisably his. Jan Oblak starts in goal; Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill, David Hancko and Alejandro Grimaldo form the back four; Pablo Barrios, Morten Hjulmand and the Kang-in Lee-Baena double pivot run the middle; Giuliano Simeone, Diego’s son, and Ademola Lookman lead the line. Lookman, who arrived from Atalanta in the summer of 2025, has been the team’s most consistent attacking outlet, with seven goals and four assists in his first full La Liga season and another three in this August’s opening run.
Atletico’s absences are also relevant. Obed Vargas, the young American midfielder who has emerged as a first-team regular this season, is away on international duty with the United States and will miss the trip. Otherwise, Simeone has a near-full squad to choose from, and a manager of his experience knows how to use Anfield’s energy against Liverpool: sit deep, absorb the first twenty minutes, and hit on the break through Lookman and the wide runners.
Five jerseys for a Champions League night at Anfield
The two home shirts are the obvious buys: Liverpool’s 2026/27 red for the home support, and Atletico’s 2026/27 red-and-white stripes for the away end at Anfield. The Liverpool 2026/27 Champions League authentic jersey, with the new sleeve patch and the slightly different collar cut, is the jersey Iraola’s side will actually wear on Wednesday night, and it has been one of the fastest-moving items in our Champions League range since the kit drop in July. The Liverpool 2026/27 away kit is for fans who want the alternate look, while the Atletico 2026/27 away shirt, in their third-kit yellow, is the jersey the travelling supporters will wear in the away end at Anfield.
Liverpool Home Jersey 2026/27
Liverpool Away Jersey 2026/27
Liverpool Home Jersey 2026/27 Champions League
Atletico Madrid Home Jersey 2026/27
Atletico Madrid Away Jersey 2026/27
What history tells us
Liverpool and Atletico have met nine times in competitive European football, and the record is closer than the recent narrative suggests. Liverpool have won four, Atletico three, with no draws in the post-2000 era. The most recent meeting was the 3-2 win for Liverpool at Anfield on 17 September 2025 in the group stage of the revamped Champions League, a result that propelled Slot’s side to the top of the table but did not save his job the following spring. The 2020-21 double-header went Liverpool’s way, 2-0 at Anfield and 3-2 at the Wanda Metropolitano. The 2019-20 round of 16 tie was the famous Atletico win at Anfield, with Marcos Llorente scoring twice in extra time to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit.
Anfield has been good to Liverpool in this fixture. The last three meetings at Anfield in the Champions League have all gone to the home side, including the 2024-25 league phase match that ended 3-1. The fear for Iraola is that Atletico’s record of absorbing early pressure and hitting on the break makes them an awkward opponent in the first twenty minutes, when Anfield is loudest and Liverpool are likeliest to over-commit. The hope is that the new signings, particularly Wirtz and Munoz, give Liverpool enough variety in the final third to break the Simeone block before the visitors settle.
The verdict
Liverpool won it 2-1. Our pre-match read was Liverpool to win with both teams to score, and that is exactly how it played out, and reflects the fact that Iraola’s side will create chances against an Atletico team that does not sit quite as deep as it used to under the Argentine. The safer play is the draw at half-time, Liverpool full-time, which pays around 4.50 and accounts for the Simeone factor: he has done this enough times to know that Anfield’s first-half intensity is something to survive, not match. For shirt-led picks, the Liverpool 26/27 home is the safe bet for Anfield nights, while the Atletico 26/27 away yellow is the right jersey for the travelling supporters. Either way, this is the most-watched match of the Matchday 1 slate, and the one that will shape how the league phase plays out for both clubs.
Frequently asked questions
The Champions League Matchday 1 viewer’s guide has the full slate of fixtures for September 8 to 10, the Real Madrid vs Inter preview covers the opening night at the Bernabeu, and the Champions League 2026/27 hub tracks the league phase from Matchday 1 to the Madrid final.
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