Liverpool eased into the Champions League knockout rounds this morning after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s assists cut through the Atletico Madrid defence in a 2-0 win at Anfield.
Precision passes from Alexander-Arnold into the heart of the goalmouth set up Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane for simply taken goals in the first 21 minutes.
Atletico looked beaten even before going down to 10 men in the 36th minute when defender Felipe was shown a straight red card for tripping Mane and his subsequent petulant reaction to the referee.
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Liverpool’s fourth straight win to open the group stage lifted the 2019 champion seven points clear of second placed Porto with two rounds remaining.
Liverpool will be seeded as a group winner in the round of 16 draw on December 13.
“They’re nigh on impossible to handle on nights like this,” Mark Bosnich said on Stan Sport.
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The loss for Atletico, which was beaten 3-2 by Liverpool in Madrid two weeks ago, also helped last placed AC Milan, which got its first point in a 1-1 draw at home to Porto.
Atletico hosts Milan, which can still finish runner-up in Group B, in three weeks’ time. Liverpool next welcomes Porto to Anfield.
Liverpool is now unbeaten in 16 games this season, and only European champion Chelsea has stopped Liverpool scoring at least two goals.
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The top two in the Premier League drew 1-1 back in August.
Alexander-Arnold was the expert creator of both first-half goals with the right-back delivering angled balls behind the Atlético back line.
A cross in the 13th bounced for the stooping Jota to guide a header high into the net, then a low and hard pass in the 21st went directly into Mane’s path to gently guide the ball past goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Liverpool threatened to sweep aside Atletico in waves of attacks early in the second half, and Jota had a goal ruled out for offside.
Atletico also had a goal disallowed by a video review, from a deflected shot in the 57th by Luis Suarez, who was jeered by home fans on his return to the club where he played for three seasons until 2014.
Atletico was back at a packed Anfield for the first time since eliminating Liverpool, by winning 3-2 after extra time, in the round of 16 on March 11 last year.
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That was the day the COVID-19 outbreak was officially declared a pandemic.
“We had incredible chances, so the game was nearly perfect,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said.
“Two incredible balls from Trent, and incredible finishes as well.
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“We don’t want to play against 10 men, we don’t like that. But in the end it was 2-0, a great night.
“The first target was to get through the group, and we did it.
“When I saw the group I did not expect that we would be through after four games, but the boys did it, and it’s really well deserved.”