Why Liverpool will still get past Atletico Madrid in the Champions League

They might have lost the first leg and their most recent Premier League match, but Liverpool will still win their Champions League tie vs Atletico Madrid.

Before the first leg of Liverpool’s Champions League round of 16 tie vs Atletico Madrid, you might have been thinking: “yeah, this shouldn’t be too difficult for Liverpool”. After all, their Spanish foes have been poor all season in La Liga, despite their excellent record in Champions League knockout ties over the years. Liverpool as well have been relatively unbeatable over the last year or so, so it was no issue to think that the Reds would fly through the tie.

Well, after the first leg, where Atletico Madrid edged out a rather uninspiring and flat Liverpool team 1-0, you started to wonder whether the Reds could potentially be out of gas after a high-octane season. After their last 2 Premier League performances  – a bare-boned 3-2 win over West Ham and a shocking 0-3 loss to Watford – you were probably left thinking: “yeah…this team is definitely out of gas..”.

Luckily for you, this is no random pub team we are talking about. This Liverpool side is one of the best club sides in the history of football, and I’m not sure that can be refuted. Their record in the Premier League is nothing short of mind-boggling, and of course, they are the defending Champions League winners too.

Jurgen Klopp’s team will show up in the 2nd leg against Atletico Madrid and win the tie:

Because they will be seriously determined to win

Yes, a determined, hungry, and inspired Liverpool team is going to be a different beast. They’ve lost their 1st Premier League game in over a year, they’ve lost the 1st leg of this tie – they are going to be absolutely fired up for the 2nd leg and come out with all guns firing. You can bet on that.

Jurgen Klopp is excellent at this sort of thing – bouncing back, and getting every single one of his players on board with that bouncing back. Liverpool are not going to let a couple of losses derail their entire season, and that’s because the man leading the team instils a sense of belief and strength into his players. That is vital.

A hungry Liverpool team might be the scariest thing for any opponent to come up against, and while Diego Simeone is a rather intimidating figure himself, his team is a lot weaker than it once was, and there’s a good chance that will show at Anfield in the 2nd leg. Speaking of Anfield…

Because Liverpool are at home and Atletico aren’t

Yeah, this is pretty simple, I know. But people don’t seem to understand how big home advantage can be in these ties, even for regular teams. Along with that point – Liverpool is no regular team, and Anfield is no regular stadium. It is a fortress, and anyone who thinks or says otherwise is absolutely kidding themselves.

With the fans behind them, Liverpool are going to play a ridiculously intense match and put pressure on Atletico Madrid’s midfield and backline straight from the first whistle. Atletico Madrid have no hope of winning this match because nobody other than Liverpool wins at Anfield, so they will likely play desperately for a draw.

Atletico Madrid have also been very poor away from home all season, as they tend to struggle when the crowd isn’t cheering in their favour. They fed off the crowd in the 1st leg and it got them over the line. This time around, it won’t work that way, and their 3 wins in 12 away La Liga matches is not convincing enough to make anyone think they will come out of this match with a win.

So yes, while Atletico Madrid have a 1-0 aggregate lead going into the 2nd leg of this Champions League round of 16 tie against Liverpool, they will still have to conjure up something really special to stop Jurgen Klopp’s exceptional side – even if they are in a bit of a slump.