Marcos Llorente shares honest assessment of Liverpool and late Champions League winner
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Atletico Madrid star Marcos Llorente admitted the start of his side's dramatic Champions League loss to Liverpool was unacceptable - but branded the Reds a "great team".
Just as he did five and a half years ago, Llorente scored twice at Anfield, and it looked as though his brace would be enough to earn the visiting team an unlikely point after an awful start to the game.
Liverpool was 2-0 up after just five minutes thanks to goals from Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, and eventually clinched all three points when Virgil van Dijk rose highest to restore Liverpool's lead in injury time.
Van Dijk's goal was the fifth time in as many games this season that the Reds have scored a winning goal after the 80-minute mark — and the third time they have scored a winner after the 90-minute mark — but it was Atletico's start, rather than the finish, that Llorente bemoaned.
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From a corner, I don't know what happened, but they scored a great goal.
It's the first Champions League match, there's still a long way to go."
While once more reiterating just how good of a team Liverpool is, Llorente said that it was too easy for Arne Slot's men to go 2-0 up in the manner that they did.
We have to resolve it."
There was a sense of deja vu when Llorente scored in front of the Kop in the first half, and even more so when his volley deflected into the net after the break.
The Spanish midfielder scored twice to knock Liverpool out of the Champions League in 2020, and his two strikes on Wednesday mean that more than half of the goals he has scored in the Champions League throughout his career (seven) have come at Anfield.
That came as little consolation, though
"I'm not thinking about that, I'm thinking about winning, the three points," Llorente said