Liverpool Prepare again for Atletico amid Feud over Style, Character

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - October 2, 2021 Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone REUTERS/Sergio Perez
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - October 2, 2021 Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone REUTERS/Sergio Perez
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Liverpool Prepare again for Atletico amid Feud over Style, Character

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - October 2, 2021 Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone REUTERS/Sergio Perez
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - October 2, 2021 Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone REUTERS/Sergio Perez

Jurgen Klopp wants to say the right things when it comes to Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone but there is always an itch he ends up scratching.

Liverpool play Atletico again in the Champions League on Wednesday in a game that this time carries more significance for the Spaniards than the Reds.

Klopp's team are already five points clear at the top of a group that looked awkward when the draw came out in August, reported AFP.

Atletico are in a scrap, level on four points with Porto, whom they still have to play in Lisbon in the final round.

In theory, the pressure on Liverpool should be reduced and yet this fixture keeps finding a way to irritate the German, to push his buttons and draw reactions he later has to rephrase or retract.

This will be the fourth meeting between the sides in the past 18 months. Atletico claimed victory in a thrilling knock-out tie last year after winning 1-0 at home, and 3-2 after extra-time away.

Liverpool then won by the same scoreline in Madrid last month, capitalizing on a red card for Antoine Griezmann and a penalty, scored by the blistering Mohamed Salah.

For the last decade, Klopp has been one of the game's most charming characters and charismatic voices.

He is not a coach that seeks confrontation, either deliberately or desperately, as a technique to get the best out of players. His jabs at Atletico feel out of sync and out of character.

There have been several, but the most notable came after the loss at Anfield last year. "I don't understand with the quality they have to be honest, that they play this kind of football. I don’t understand that," Klopp told BT Sport.

"When I see players like Koke, Saul (Niguez), (Marcos) Llorente - they could play proper football but they stand deep and have counter attacks. But they beat us that’s how it is."

In the first leg, Klopp substituted Sadio Mane, worried about Atletico's attempts to get him sent off. "I was afraid his opponent would go down if he took a deep breath," he said.

He noted Atletico's celebrations at the end.

"I saw a lot of happy faces among their players and staff, but it's not over," said Klopp. He also seemed irked by Simeone's antics on the touchline.

"Wow, that's energy," he said.

"I hope I can be a little more focused in the second leg."

After winning in Madrid, a grinning Klopp sarcastically waved down the tunnel at Simeone, who habitually avoids shaking the other coach's hand.

"I wanted to shake his hand and he was running off," he said. "I'm also not overly happy with my reaction to be honest."

Klopp has also stayed true to his more professional instincts, offering generous praise of Atletico and Simeone, if not for their style, then their achievements.

"His teams are always well-organized, world class, so that makes him one of the best coaches," he said before the first meeting in 2020. Afterwards he said: "Their defense was exceptional."

And he has tried to smooth over previous comments when they have resurfaced. "I'm not the pope of football," he said after the last match. "What does it matter what I like?"

To fulfil their obligations with television companies, coaches are required to speak within minutes of the final whistle. In some ways it is incredible more do not err from diplomacy.

There is something about Atletico, though, that wrangles with Klopp, their beliefs about how the game should be played, and won, so different to his that the usual rules seem to get forgotten.

It is perhaps surprising even that against Liverpool, other opponents have not tried an Atletico-like approach.

There is also an irony in finding frustration with Atletico's negative tactics now, at a time when they are more open than ever under Simeone.

Trying to squeeze Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix and Luis Suarez into the same team has come at a cost. "We are worried about it and we're working on it," Simeone said last month.

Klopp's impatience is perhaps a compliment to Atletico, to the depths Liverpool had to go to beat them and the battle they know they will face this week.

It is an indication too of the fervor with which Klopp holds his own beliefs and the relentlessness that brings his players along with him.

But perhaps most of all, it is good drama, a healthy, ongoing disagreement between two of the game's greatest coaches about how best to win.

"It's not too bad," said Klopp. "When we see each other we'll shake hands."



Nunez Late Double Rescues Win for Liverpool in Premier League

Liverpool's Darwin Nunez greets supporters after winning the English Premier League match between Brentford FC and Liverpool FC, in London, Britain, 18 January 2025.  EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
Liverpool's Darwin Nunez greets supporters after winning the English Premier League match between Brentford FC and Liverpool FC, in London, Britain, 18 January 2025. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
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Nunez Late Double Rescues Win for Liverpool in Premier League

Liverpool's Darwin Nunez greets supporters after winning the English Premier League match between Brentford FC and Liverpool FC, in London, Britain, 18 January 2025.  EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
Liverpool's Darwin Nunez greets supporters after winning the English Premier League match between Brentford FC and Liverpool FC, in London, Britain, 18 January 2025. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY

Darwin Nunez scored twice in stoppage time as Liverpool beat Brentford 2-0 to strengthen its spot in first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Second-placed Arsenal will look to restore the four-point gap to Liverpool by defeating Aston Villa later.
Nunez was derided by Brentford's fans after going on as a substitute in the 65th minute, but the Uruguay striker responded by turning home a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first minute of added-on time, The Associated Press reported.
Nunez then finished off a counterattack two minutes later and secured a first victory in three league games for Liverpool, which drew with Manchester United and Nottingham Forest either side of a loss to Tottenham in the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals.
Liverpool has still lost only one league game all season, at home to Forest in September. The Reds had 37 shots against Brentford and scored with their final two.
Kluivert's second hat trick Justin Kluivert scored his second hat trick of the season in the league to inspire Bournemouth to 4-1 at Newcastle, whose nine-match winning run in all competitions came to an end emphatically.
The Dutch midfielder netted in the sixth, 44th and second-half stoppage time at St. James' Park. Milos Kerkez added the fourth goal in the sixth minute of added-on time.
Bruno Guimaraes equalized for fourth-placed Newcastle.
Kluivert, whose father is former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert, also scored three goals against Wolverhampton in November. In that match, all of Kluivert's goals were penalties, but he scored from open play each time against Newcastle.
Six of Newcastle's nine straight victories came in the league, helping to lift the Saudi-controlled team into the top four in its bid to return to the Champions League.
Newcastle striker Alexander Isak failed to score, having previously netted in eight league games in a row. That left him three games short of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy's record for the longest scoring run in Premier League history.
Bournemouth dominated Newcastle despite being hampered by a long list of injuries. The south coast team extended its unbeaten run to 11 games and climbed to sixth place, tied for points with fifth-placed Chelsea. A fifth-place finish could earn a place in the Champions League next season for the first time.
“Why not dream big?” Kluivert posed. “We never know where we can end up.”
Van Nistelrooy under pressure Next-to-last Leicester lost a seventh straight game in the league, 2-0 to Fulham, to pile the pressure on recently hired manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy has won only one of his nine league games in charge — the first against West Ham on Dec. 3.
Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore scored for Fulham.
Crystal Palace won at West Ham 2-0 thanks to two second-half goals by Jean-Philippe Mateta, the second from the penalty spot.