Player Ratings: Liverpool FC 2-3 Atlético Madrid

Starting XI

Oblak (9): An absolute world class night between the sticks from Oblak, who made nine saves and two punches. Jürgen Klopp’s men came out launching shots and continued their pressure throughout the match — but with each wave from Liverpool’s fiery artillery, Oblak found an answer. His heroic dives and commanding punches showed why he’s the best in the world.

Trippier (6.5): The former Tottenham Hotspur man was solid in halting Liverpool’s attack on the right side. He prevented the energetic Andy Robertson from sending in lethal crosses and narrowed the pitch by staying close to Stefan Savić.

Savić (7): Improved immensely from the poor performances of late. The constant bombardment of opposition attacks put a lot of pressure on the defense, but Savić took charge with 18 clearances and multiple tackles.

Filipe (7): Like Savić, the Brazilian came up big on defense. His 14 clearances and four tackles cut out many more chances Liverpool tried to create. As usual, his aerial presence was needed to stop crosses from meeting their intended targets. His only glaring mistake was on Liverpool’s first goal where there seemed to be some lack of communication between him and Savić on marking, which left Georginio Wijnaldum free.

Lodi (4.5): In the first leg, Lodi controlled the left side with deadly crosses and concrete defense, but on Wednesday he was targeted in isolation by Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and couldn’t contain them. He was beaten with pace and allowed too many easy crosses. As the match progressed, Koke and Saúl shifted over to help him in 1v1 battles.

Correa (4): Minimal presence on both ends. Correa was consistently outmuscled off the ball, and at times he looked more interested in his David and Goliath battle against the towering Virgil van Dijk than in the actual game.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Partey (7.5): Faced with the difficult task of containing the floating Roberto Firmino. Thomas was constantly moving, which left other players like Salah and Oxlade-Chamberlain open early on. But the midfield adapted as the match progressed with Llorente’s addition. His interceptions and tackles gave Atlético Madrid time to breathe and was vital in creating what little offense the team could muster.

Saúl (7): Took multiple shots—including one from behind the halfway line — and was extremely active in the defensive third. He contained Salah as much as he could with his pressing and cleared the ball out of some dangerous positions.

Koke (7.5): Always running. Koke’s pressure helped to win back the ball. He passed well (by this game’s standards) and was really helpful when the full backs became isolated.

Félix (7): Had to scrape for every chance he could get. In the 97th minute, he intercepted Adrián’s poor clearance and moved the ball to Llorente, thus creating Atlético’s first goal out of thin air.

Costa (3): Played just under an hour and was almost nonexistent. His highlight of the match was tossing the ball behind his back to prevent a quick Liverpool restart.

Subs

Llorente (8.5): Who would’ve thought the defensive midfielder would end up changing the game? Subbed on for Diego Costa to help the outnumbered midfield, Llorente did more on the offensive end than anyone else. In the 97th minute, he curled the ball into the bottom right corner past an outstretched Adrián, and less than ten minutes later he took on Jordan Henderson after a field-length sprint and scored with a strike to the same spot to give Atlético the aggregate lead.

Vrsaljko (6): Subbed on for Trippier at the start of extra time. He filled the Englishman’s shoes well and helped fortify that flank with his fresh legs.

Morata (8): Was on the field less than 20 minutes and finished with a goal and an assist. Morata was the one who glided down the field before picking out Llorente to score his second goal. In the dying minutes of extra time, Llorente repaid the favor by assisting Morata’s slotted shot into the back of the net.

Giménez (6): Subbed on for Correa to start the second half of extra time. Simeone threw him on to see out the tie.