'That's a problem': Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink warns Arne Slot after watching Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid
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Liverpool defeated Atletico Madrid 3-2 on a dramatic night in the Champions League, but there is one issue that seems to remain.
It seemed destined in the opening 10 minutes to be a game that Arne Slot’s side would win with ease after Andy Robertson touched in a Mohamed Salah free kick, as the ‘Egyptian King’ followed up with an individual goal of his own to put the home side two goals ahead.
But a goal from Marcos Llorente, who has a habit of scoring at Anfield, before the end of the first half, and a volley in the 81st, dampened hopes of an opening night win.
However, the Reds pulled off another dramatic stoppage-time winner when Virgil van Dijk pushed through the bodies in the box to sink a header past Jan Oblak to score a 96th-minute winner.
It was the team’s fifth consecutive goal in all competitions during the final 10 minutes of action, as Slot’s men secured a victory on his birthday for the second year in a row.
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Their form in the Premier League has made its way into European nights, which can either be a blessing or a curse depending on which way you look at it.
But for fans, the winning is the most important thing, and results seem to keep cropping up for the side even when all hope of a winner seems lost.
It has been the story of the season so far, with pundits wondering whether these moments of magic can last all season long or whether they will slowly start to find their usual consistent form.
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Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the former Chelsea star, does not believe they can and has highlighted it as a problem for the side challenging for another European crown and a back-to-back league title.
During analysis on BBC’s Champions League coverage, Hasselbaink was asked what he would be thinking as a manager in that situation.
He said: “Yeah, we can’t keep doing this.
You want this to happen, but this happens four times in a row, that’s a problem.
“With the Burnley one it is a little bit different, but winning, giving goals away and then in the last moment having to find the magic moment, yes, it is good you are showing resilience, you are showing that you don’t give up, you are showing that you are still there.
But this is not going to keep on happening.”
The way the Dutch coach’s side seems to be winning is very reminiscent of Jurgen Klopp’s team, where they were ‘Mentality Monsters’, finding ways to win even when it looked unlikely.
What this does give Liverpool is an edge over other teams and plays a mental factor when an opposition side is drawing or winning in the final stretch, that they could be hit with something special.
This strong resilience is something that the 47-year-old coach was pleased to have.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Slot said: “If you want to beat a team like Atletico, which is known and has an unbelievable mentality, you have to beat them with their own weapon as well, and that is mentality.
“I think that’s what we showed again today, that we can beat them also by mentality.
But I think we should have made it easier for ourselves.”
The game was the first of eight league phase matches in the competition, and their next challenge will be away from home against Galatasaray in two weeks.