Ahead at Anfield, then a 2-1 defeat, and only three shots in a second half with 60% of the ball

Even in the first half, three shots in the second

A 2-1 defeat at Anfield. Marcos Llorente put Atlético ahead on 17 minutes from a Julián Álvarez through ball, but Szoboszlai on 40 and Mac Allister on 50 turned it round. Atlético played the first half in a back three, the shape Iraola described as "a structure that they haven't used before this season", and FotMob's numbers for that half had possession at 50%, shots at six apiece and xG at 0.62 to 0.77, so on the volume and quality of the shooting there was not much between the sides. Touches in the opposition box were the exception, four to 19, and it was Liverpool who were getting the ball close to goal.

Possession rose to 60% in the second half, yet Atlético finished it with three shots and an xG of 0.29. Liverpool had eight after the break alone. Big chances over the 90 minutes were four to one, and Atlético's one was the opener on 17 minutes.

Simeone told Movistar+: "I'm pleased with the game. The lads gave everything they had." In his press conference he then went through the goals conceded. "Two today, three in Bilbao, one in Seville, two against Villarreal. That comes down to the team. It's clear we have a lot of work to do. I've been saying we are a team under construction, even if some people don't want to hear it." That is eight goals conceded in five competitive games. Simeone himself put Bilbao and Anfield side by side as games where a good first half did not lead to a result.

Barrios was the one who stood out at beating the press

Possession over the 90 minutes was 55%. But Atlético's passing was weighted towards their own half, 273 passes there against 165 in Liverpool's. Liverpool's split was 137 in their own half and 218 in Atlético's, almost the reverse ratio. Touches in the opposition box were 18 to 33. Atlético could keep the ball, but it was not turning into enough attacking in the Liverpool half.

In the first half the passes were still getting through. Steven Gerrard, working as a pundit for TNT Sports, said Liverpool were pressing in ones and twos before the break, there was too much space on the pitch, and Atlético played through them. Giuliano Simeone said: "In the first half we felt comfortable on the ball and we were able to get out of some difficult presses." Llorente looked back on it as a spell where "we combined well playing the ball out from the back". The opener came in that spell. Julián dropped into midfield, took the ball in the centre, carried it forward and found Llorente running in behind Kerkez.

Losing the ball in their own half was happening from the first half onwards. The equaliser on 40 minutes began when Lee Kang-in was dispossessed by Kerkez in midfield. Oblak saved Barcola's shot, and Araújo's backheel then set up Szoboszlai to finish. ItC gave Lee a 4 and picked out that moment.

Liverpool made their adjustments at half-time. Iraola said that after the break "everything was better set", and Steve McManaman, on the same broadcast, explained that the instruction at the interval was to close down together, and that there were fewer moments of one player going alone and being passed through. Koke read it the same way: "We know they are a team that presses very hard, and they read the game in the way that suited them." Atlético had three shots in the second half and no big chances.

Barrios, more than anyone, was the one getting through the press. His 74 touches were second in the team behind Hancko, and 51 of his 56 passes found a team-mate. He attempted five dribbles and completed three, won two fouls and made six recoveries. ItC wrote that he "was great at breaking down Liverpool's aggressive press and led a number of counter-attacks" and gave him 6.5, the highest in the team. Once Hjulmand replaced him on 77, he struggled to keep the ball early on, and in my view the quality of the forward carrying dropped with it.

My view is that Barrios is the only player in this squad who can be given the job of beating a press. After him come Hjulmand, Baena and Lee Kang-in. The numbers from this one game cannot settle that order; it is my impression from what I have seen so far this season. I think two of those three need to be on the pitch alongside Barrios, or the ball cannot be moved forward against a team that comes to press. Here, Lee went off on 59 and Baena on 73, and Barrios followed on 77, which left Hjulmand as the only one of them still out there.

Llorente's fifth at Anfield, and the defensive numbers were good too

That was Llorente's fifth goal at Anfield. Five of his ten Champions League goals have come against Liverpool, and among players with ten or more goals in the competition he is the only one to have scored half or more of them against a single opponent. "I was thinking about it on the way here," he said. "There's no way I score here again. There's something to this now." He also said that "when the team doesn't win, and you're older, it really doesn't matter at all".

The defensive numbers were good too: five tackles, five ground duels won out of seven, four recoveries. In his own words, "Today I've been at the back, at wing-back, through the middle. A bit of what the game asked for." ItC gave him a 6, crediting the run in behind Kerkez and his composure in the one-on-one, while also noting the moment he let Ngumoha slip past him in the build-up to the second goal. His 7.8 from FotMob was the highest in the team.

Julián's first start of the season, and he kept getting on the ball

The day before, Simeone had said of Julián in his press conference: "Julián is still in a growth phase. I don't see him starting tomorrow." That was overturned on the morning of the game. Afterwards Simeone explained: "I got up in the morning, spoke with him for a while, saw he was in very good shape and, fortunately, chose to play him, because he produced the game I expected him to." He had been left out of the squad for Málaga and Sevilla this season and came off the bench against Villarreal and Athletic, so this was his first start and his first full 90 minutes. He went down hurt on 55 and play was stopped for a while, but he played to the end.

He produced attacking numbers. All three of his shots were on target and all three were saved by Alisson. Besides the assist for the opener, his seven passes into the final third were the most of any starter, he had four touches in the opposition box, and his combined xG and xA of 0.54 was the highest in the team. ItC wrote: "For all the offseason drama and questions of loyalty to Atleti, one thing hasn't changed about Julián Alvarez, and it's that he is pretty dang good." Simeone's words were: "He took charge of the ball the whole time, the whole time, from the first minute to the 90th. That makes me happy." Koke asked the press to give Julián some space. "We're very tired, him above all. All of you need to leave him in peace a little, because you've been a bit tiresome all summer." The defensive stats are close to nil: no tackles, no interceptions and one recovery, the same as in the two games he came off the bench. Even so, it looked to me as though he chased opponents more often than in those two games.

Eight conceded in five games, Anoeta next

Simeone said: "We need to read the moments better, when to keep playing one way or another. That is why we conceded the two goals." On the substitutions: "The changes started to come when we were losing and looking for other solutions, because in the second half we had very few goalscoring chances." Grimaldo and Lookman came on on 59, Jonathan David made his Atlético debut on 73, Le Normand and Hjulmand followed on 77, and by WhoScored's record the shape from 78 minutes onwards was a 4-4-2.

Whether the back three stays is unclear. Iraola said: "I think today I have to blame myself a little bit for the start of the game. I think Atletico has used a structure that they haven't used before this season and it has cost us a little bit to match up properly." At the very least, it took Liverpool out of what they had expected. Next is Real Sociedad at Anoeta on Sunday 13 September, then Osasuna at home on Wednesday 16 September, and the derby at 16:15 on Sunday 20 September. Champions League Matchday 2 is on 13 October, against Manchester United at the Metropolitano.

Ratings

Starters

Substitutes

ItC ratings via Into the Calderón; FotMob ratings via FotMob.