Ranking Liverpool's 5 best players in 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid

Liverpool continued their unbeaten run this season with a thrilling win over Atletico Madrid. The Reds went 2-0 up early in the game but needed a Mohamed Salah penalty late in the second half to seal all three points.

The Egyptian opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 8th minute and Naby Keita doubled the lead five minutes later. Jurgen Klopp's side looked in complete control but Antoine Griezmann struck twice to level things up before half-time.

The game was set for a big second-half, but Griezmann was sent off after his boot caught Roberto Firmino's face in the 52nd minute. Salah managed to hand Liverpool the lead after Mario Hermoso body-checked Diogo Jota in the 82nd minute to gift Liverpool a penalty.

The referee handed Atletico Madrid a penalty for a similar foul by Jota. But VAR surprisingly overturned the decision and the Premier League side held on.

Diego Simeone refused to shake hands with Klopp after the game ended, which saw the Reds manager unhappy. While the Atletico Madrid manager claimed he does this every week, the German was not pleased:

"The situation is clear: I want to shake his hand, he doesn't want to. I want to shake his hand and he is running off. He was not happy – not with me, but with the game, the world, that sort of stuff."

Here are

Liverpool's 5 best players from the 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid:

#5 - Trent Alexander-Arnold

Atletico Madrid v Liverpool FC: Group B - UEFA Champions League

Trent Alexander-Arnold was nowhere near his best last night as he was exposed a few too many times in the first half. However, he was better after half-time and did well.

Atletico Madrid were trying to make the most of the space left behind by Trent when he went up in attack. That saw him caught in two minds in the first half. Antoine Griezmann's sending off made things better for him as the home side sat back and were giving the right-back more space to work.

#4 - Andy Robertson

Andy Robertson was very similar to Trent on the opposite wing. He too was going forward at every chance in the second half but did not manage to put in a good final ball.

The Scotsman had a good chance to get on the scoresheet too but shot over. He was credited with an assist for the game's opening goal and, overall, had a decent outing.

#3 - Joel Matip

Joel Matip was easily Liverpool's best defender against Atletico Madrid. The Cameroonian was nowhere close to his Watford performance, but he hardly put a foot wrong when he closed in on the players.

The center-back won seven out of the eight duels he contested, made two crucial tacks, and had a 95% pass success in the game. Atletico Madrid tried and pulled him out of position a lot and succeeded a couple of times. If it wasn't for him, Liverpool might not have come out victorious.

#2 - Alisson

Alisson was called into action a lot in the first half and he did well to deny Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix and Thomas Lemar. The save when Griezmann was one-on-one with the Brazilian was easily the best of the lot. The goal would have given the home side their equalizer before they eventually got it and boosted their confidence even more.

In the second half, Alisson had very little to do as Atletico Madrid sat back and defended as they were down to 10 men. Speaking to the media after the win, the Brazilian said:

“I believe the boss is a maestro in talking in the right moments, the right things. He brought us into the game again in the changing room. Our attitude changed a little bit in the second half.

'It’s not easy when you are 2-0 up before 15 minutes and then straight away you concede a goal. You know that it will be hard. We came here, we know that wouldn’t be easy playing against Atletico, and the game shows it for everyone, for us and for everybody who watched the game. I’m happy that we could score the third goal, didn’t concede any more and controlled the situations more."

#1 - Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah is in the form of his life and it is no surprise he was the best player on the pitch once again. The Egyptian scored twice at the Wanda Metropolitano and showed the world why there is so much hype around him at the moment.

He danced around the Atletico box before the first goal and did well to find space throughout the game despite the home side sitting back deep. The penalty was taken in a calm fashion as always, after sending Jan Oblak the wrong way.

Mohamed Salah became the first Liverpool player ever to score in nine consecutive appearances.

Ranking Liverpool's 5 best players in 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid | UEFA Champions League 2021-22