Liverpool took the lead in the first round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League thanks to goals from Robertson and Salah, but conceded a goal late on. Van Dijk netted in a crucial moment, ultimately defeating Atletico Madrid 3-2. Sloter said his team should have secured victory earlier, but he still praised the players' fighting spirit.

Just four minutes into the match, Salah's free kick hit Robertson's foot and found the net, giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead. Just two minutes later, Gravenberch's pass into the box was met by Salah, who defied the defense to score, giving Liverpool a 2-0 lead over Atletico Madrid.

In the first half stoppage time, Laspadori's cross was met by Llorente in the penalty area, who scored with a low shot, helping Atletico Madrid to tie the game 1-2. In the 81st minute, Atletico Madrid's pass was cleared, and Llorente, who was at the top of the penalty area, scored with a direct shot, helping Atletico Madrid to tie the game 2-2.

In the second half stoppage time, Szoboslai took a corner kick and Van Dijk jumped up to head the ball into the goal. In the end, Liverpool defeated Atletico Madrid 3-2 at Anfield.

Liverpool manager Slaughter said: "This is the second consecutive year that I have celebrated my birthday in a Champions League game. It is also the second consecutive year that the players have given me a great gift because we have won the game. We played well, created many opportunities and could have locked the game earlier, but the opponent is Atletico Madrid. They always find a way back into the competition, but fortunately we have the same mentality."

I hope the players' passing and coordination will be recognized

"I think it was still a fantastic game, not just for Liverpool fans but for all fans who love football. A game like this shouldn't have been decided until the very last minute, but beating Atletico Madrid wasn't easy; they had a strong mentality. But we had countless chances to score the third goal, but we just didn't capitalize. It's different from the games against Burnley, Arsenal or Newcastle, where we didn't create as many chances as we did in this game."

Talking about the debut performance of new signing Isaac, Slot said, "I was surprised by the physical fitness he showed in 60 minutes. This may illustrate that signing a 25- or 26-year-old player with many years of experience in this league is indeed different from signing a 20-year-old player from a different league. Although he has only trained for two weeks, he has rich game experience, so he was able to play for 60 minutes."

In addition, Sloter also said, "If you want to compete in the Premier League, cup competitions and Champions League, you must have mentality and physical fitness, but you also need quality, and we saw all of this in the game. Maybe I am a little disappointed because everyone only talks about the last-minute goal, but I would rather people pay attention to our attack in the first half after Wirtz and Alex almost let Frimpong score, or in the second half The combination between Soboslai, Wirtz and Salah ended up hitting the post."

"I saw a lot of positives, but at the same time we once again blew a 2-0 lead. It wasn't like the counter-attack against Bournemouth, but it wasn't a characteristic of our team last season. So there are still areas for improvement, but there are also many positive things to take away."