| UEFA Europa League: Liverpool - Atletico Madrid |
||
Do or die for Liverpool in Atlético decider
Liverpool FC must overturn a one-goal first-leg deficit if they are to have a chance of reaching the inaugural UEFA Europa League final, having lost 1-0 to Club Atlético de Madrid in last week's tense semi-final opener. • Diego Forlán bundled home the only goal of the match after nine minutes, and while Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina said afterwards that the tie was now tilted "70-30 in Atlético's favour", the goalscorer said: "The goal is undoubtedly important but there are still 90 very difficult minutes ahead of us against an experienced team who will be at home." Previous meetings • The sides met for the first time in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage with both games ending in 1-1 draws, Simão scoring in the 83rd minute of the game in Spain after Robbie Keane had given Liverpool a 14th-minute lead. • Liverpool went on to top Group D with 14 points and Atlético finished as runners-up on 12. Los Rojiblancos were knocked out by FC Porto on away goals in the last 16, while the Reds lost to Chelsea in the quarter-finals. • The teams for the previous meeting at Anfield on 4 November 2008 were: Liverpool: Reina, Agger, Keane (Ngog, 71), Gerrard, Riera (Babel, 61), Fabio Aurélio, Alonso, Arbeloa, Kuyt, Mascherano (Lucas, 77), Carragher. Atlético: Franco, Antonio López, Pernía, Heitinga, Forlán (Agüero, 71), Raúl García, Maxi Rodríguez, Assunção, Maniche, Simão (Luis García, 90), Perea. • Since that match, both John Heitinga and Maxi Rodríguez have moved to Merseyside, the former joining Everton and the latter Liverpool. Match background • Liverpool have lost the first leg of a UEFA competition tie 1-0 away from home on nine occasions, and have come through in all but one of those contests. Those overall triumphs include their 3-1 aggregate win against LOSC Lille Métropole in the last 16 of this season's competition. • The only team to beat Liverpool after winning the first leg 1-0 at home were SL Benfica in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League first knockout round, coming through 3-0 overall with Simão – now of Atlético – on the scoresheet at Anfield. • Atlético have won the home opener of a two-legged tie 1-0 on eight occasions, going on to triumph overall five times. Two of those contests were semi-finals, with Los Colchoneros coming through against KFC Uerdingen 05 in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 4-2 on aggregate but going down to AFC Ajax in the 1970/71 European Cup after a 3-0 away defeat. • Atlético have now played 18 games against English clubs, with the record W6 D8 L4 (W1 D4 L3 in England). That includes a 5-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 1962/63 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, which was held at Rotterdam's De Kuip stadium. • Atlético's only victory on English soil came in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup first round, where they won 2-0 at Leicester City FC on 30 September 1997. • Liverpool overcame Spanish opponents – Barcelona on both occasions – in the semi-finals of the 1975/76 and 2000/01 UEFA Cups. Both times, they went on to win the trophy. • Liverpool have now played 29 games against Spanish sides in UEFA club competition with the record W12 D10 L7 (W3 D6 L4 at home). • Those statistics include victories in two European finals; Liverpool beat Real Madrid CF 1-0 to win the 1980/81 European Champion Clubs' Cup and overcame Deportivo Alavés 5-4 with an extra-time golden goal in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup final. • This is Atlético's 11th appearance in a major UEFA club competition semi-final and their first since they lost to Parma FC in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup last four. Those ten previous semis have produced four wins and six defeats. • This is Liverpool's 15th major semi-final, with their most recent being a loss to Chelsea FC in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League last four. Their 14 previous semis have ended in 11 wins and three defeats. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||