Liverpool receive major boost as Atletico Madrid star will miss Champions League clash
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(Credit: Imago)
Ben Palmer
Tue 16 September 2025 7:30, UK
Liverpool have been handed a boost after it was confirmed that one of Atletico Madrid’s star men will not travel with the squad to Anfield for the two sides’ Champions League clash.
The Reds have made a flying start to their Premier League title defence this season thanks to a series of late heroics from various members of their squad.
Arne Slot will be keen for his side to go a step further this season by adding a seventh Champions League trophy to their cabinet this season.
Liverpool were dumped out by PSG on penalties last term with the French side eventually winning the competition for the first time in their history.
The Reds’ first hurdle will be a meeting with an infamously stout Atleti side that knocked the Premier League side out of the 2019-20 edition of the competition.
But Diego Simeone’s side will need to do so without one of their star men and a player with plenty of experience of besting Liverpool.
Credit: Imago
Julian Alvarez departed Man City in the summer of 2024 to join Simeone’s men in the Spanish capital for a fee of £82million [Sky Sports].
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During his two seasons in Manchester, the Argentine forward won the Premier League twice, with Liverpool left in the Sky Blues’ wake.
In his first season with Atleti, Alvarez enjoyed his most prolific campaign as a senior player, scoring 29 and assisting seven in 54 games in all competitions.
But as confirmed by Spanish outlet El Chiringuito on X, the 25-year-old will not travel with his side to England after picking up a knock against Villarreal on Saturday, 13 September.
Whilst Simeone will be pondering which strikers to use against the Premier League champions, Slot will be facing a similar conundrum.
Hugo Ekitike has made a flying start to life at Liverpool, despite struggling against a resolute Burnley side in their most recent game.
But after Alexander Isak joined Liverpool for a Premier League record-breaking fee on deadline day, it feels inevitable that the Swedish striker will be the main man up top sooner rather than later.
Credit: Imago
Whether Slot chooses to unleash the ex-Newcastle man against Atleti remains to be seen.
The likelihood is that the Dutchman will continue to favour Ekitike for the time being.
Isak’s lack of time spent learning Liverpool’s system may see him spend longer out of the starting XI than many may hope, but against a side so renowned for their defensive abilities, it would make more sense to start with the Frenchman, before turning to the Sweden international in the latter stages.