Liverpool boss Arne Slot set to reunite with Atletico Madrid hero after heated bust-up
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Arne Slot is poised to be reunited with Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, who angrily confronted the Liverpool manager during a past meeting.
Liverpool is preparing to welcome Atletico Madrid on Wednesday as the Reds begin their Champions League journey.
Slot will be eager to surpass last season's European showing, having crashed out at the round of 16 stage to eventual winners PSG via a penalty shootout despite finishing top of the revamped group phase.
The Reds will be determined to launch another impressive Champions League run this time out, with Slot already well-acquainted with Atletico boss Simeone.
The duo initially crossed paths during a pre-season clash between Atletico and Feyenoord, shortly after Slot took over at the Dutch outfit in 2021.
Following Feyenoord's dramatic 2-1 win in stoppage time, an agitated Simeone pushed Slot, forcing players and backroom staff to intervene, as he wrongly assumed the future Liverpool chief was taunting him.
"At that moment, at the end of the match, I turned to Simeone to tell him how passionate he was even in a friendly match," he explained ahead of Feyenoord's encounter with the same opposition in the Champions League two years ago, as reported by talkSPORT.
"Then, he misinterpreted the smile I had at that moment and pushed me.
Arne Slot and Diego Simeone's sides met in the Champions League two years after the shoving incident.
David Hancko and Robin Le Normand were also taken off with suspected knocks.
Liverpool enters their opening Champions League fixture in a buoyant mood following four consecutive Premier League victories, but it has been a rather inconsistent start for Atle?tico