Liverpool begin their quest for a seventh European title against familiar foes Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday.
Arne Slot’s reigning Premier League champions have started the campaign with four wins out of four in England’s top flight.
Last season, the Reds were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16, despite finishing top of the inaugural league phase.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone has enjoyed some memorable jousts with Liverpool in the Champions League, including a famous March 2020 thriller that they edged on Merseyside.
Such exploits might feel a long time ago for the long-serving head coach, who oversaw an uncommonly high amount of player turnover during the close season and watched his team go three La Liga games without a win before their 2-0 weekend victory over Villarreal.
The Sporting News is following the Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid match live, providing score updates and commentary
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Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid score
| 1st Half | Goalscorers | |
| Liverpool | 2 | Robertson ‘4, Salah ‘6 |
| Atletico | 0 |
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Starting Lineups:
Liverpool (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Alisson (GK) — 30. Jeremie Frimpong, 5. Ibrahima Konate, 4. Virgil van Dijk, 26. Andy Robertson — 38. Ryan Gravenberch, 8. Dominik Szoboszlai — 11. Mohamed Salah, 7. Florian Wirtz, 18. Cody Gakpo — 9. Alexander Isak
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2, right to left): 13. Jan Oblak (GK) — 14. Marcos Llorente, 24. Robin Le Normand, 15. Clement Lenglet, 21. Javi Galan — 20. Giuliano Simeone, 8. Pablo Barrios, 4. Conor Gallagher, 23. Nico Gonzalez — 7. Antoine Griezmann, 22. Giacomo Raspadori
Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid live updates, highlights, and commentary
37 mins: Wirtz’s outswinger is cleared at the near post.
36 mins: PENALTY OVERTURNED! The replays showed Lenglet managed to avoid the ball hitting his arm altogether. Corner to Liverpool!
35 mins: PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL! Lenglet slides to block a Frimpong cross, the linesman signals for a corner but referee Mariani points to the spot. We’ve gone to VAR… surelty this isn’t a penalty as it deflected up off Lenglet’s thigh and into his arm.
34 mins: Atletico left-back Galan now needing a bit of attention from the medical staff. During the break, Szoboszlai appeared to be giving Isak some tactical pointers.
32 mins: Liverpool’s No. 9 is carrying on after a bit of treatment.
31 mins: Le Normand is booked but there’s no free-kick as advantage was played. Isak still down…
30 mins: Half a chance for Isak, who goes down under Le Normand’s challenge. Salah fires goalwards and Oblak clings on at the second attempt.
22 mins: Another decent couple of situations for Atleti down Liverpool’s left channel. Simeone’s low ball is cut out by Konate unfussily.
21 mins: Salah cuts inside and curls a trademark effort just wide of the far post. Oblak wasn’t getting there.
20 mins: Gravenberch is sold short in central midfield and is chased all the way back to his own area by Raspadori. Liverpool just need to sharpen things back up a touch.
17 mins: Poor chipped clearance from Alisson and Atleti work it well to Gallagher, who’s into the box down the right channel and chips in a nice cross from which Raspadori and Simeone can’t capitalise.
16 mins: This is turning into the sort of end-to-end game Atletico would not have wanted but they don’t really have a choice. Raspadori lines up a shot from 25 yards but scuffs it and it’s easy work for Alisson.
14 mins: Isak cuts inside, the crowd roar but he’s crowded out. Atleti belatedly clear and break through Nico, who wants. a free-kick after a challenge from Van Dijk but it’s not forthcoming.
11 mins: Robertson catches Simeone in the face with a stray hand. it’s a free-kick but no more. The Atleti winger went down a touch theatrically. I guess they could do with a red card because this instantly looks absolutely hopeless for them. Liverpool all over them in every department.
6 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Mohamed Salah!!!!
Oh my, this has quickly got out of hand. Salah darts inside, plays a one-two with Gravenberch and slots home. Atleitco so static at the back.
4 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Andy Robertson!!!!
Salah drills the free-kick low, Robertson is turned away and it goes in. Didn’t know much about it and doesn’t mind.
3 mins: Gravenberch nicks the ball around Lenglet, who has nowhere to go and brings the Dutchman down. Free-kick to Liverpool right on the edge of the box. Wirtz and Salah over it.
Kickoff: 1st Half
Off we go. Liverpool kicking towads the Anfield Road End.
5 mins: You’ll Never Walk Alone done and the teams are in the tunnel. Ready for lift-off.
20 mins before kickoff: The teams were just read out. The biggest roar, by miles, was for Isak. Atletico fans in the corner away to my left are making themselves heard. Their form has been pretty wretched so far this season and few people five them a chance of getting anything. So yeah, just the sort of situation that brings Diego Simeone back to the well time after time.
40 mins before kickoff: So, Isak being in with Wirtz makes this feel like the all-bell-and-whistles version of Liverpool. Szoboszlai and Gravenberch are the men in possession in central midfield too, the former making his 100th Reds appearance. Alexis Mac Allister is among the substitutes.
1 hour before kickoff: Here’s the Atletico XI. Giacomo Raspadori gets the nod to start alongside Antoine Griezmann up front in Julian Alvarez’s absence. Former Chelsea man Conor Gallagher is part of what will be a typically hard-working Atletico midfield four.
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨
Our starting XI against Liverpool 💪 pic.twitter.com/WOqpwK0EQm
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) September 17, 2025
1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: The teams are in and the big news is that Alexander Isak starts, making his keenly anticipated Liverpool debut.
Team news is IN for our Champions League clash with Atlético Madrid 👊 #UCL
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 17, 2025
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: Liverpool claimed home and away wins over Atletico in the 2021/22 group stage. In March 2020, Atletico won an instant classic that simultaneously felt pretty dark in the wider context. We took a look back at the last great game before everything stopped.
MORE: Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid 2020 revisited: Simeone’s Anfield masterpiece as COVID crisis loomed
2 hours before kickoff. Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Arne Slot’s men have made a perfect start to the Premier League season with four wins out of four, while Atlet have found the going a lot tougher in La Liga. How much will that mean on an early autumn night at Anfield?
Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid kick off time
The UEFA Champions League match kicks off in Liverpool at 8 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Wed, Sep 17 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Wed, Sep 17 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Wed, Sep 17 | 8:00 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Thu, Sep 18 | 5:00 a.m. AEST |
| India | Thu, Sep 18 | 1:30 a.m. IST |
Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid lineups, team news
Liverpool have two absentees in the midfield: Curtis Jones, who suffered a muscle injury earlier this month, and Stefan Bajcetic, who has been out with a hamstring issue since May.
The big news is that Liverpool fans get to see Alexander Isak make his debut as part of the starting XI. Slot mentioned the Swedish star requires time to build up his fitness, having missed the preseason. He confirmed on Tuesday that Isak would be unable to play 90 minutes.
Jeremie Frimpong, meanwhile, has recovered from a hamstring injury and makes the starting XI.
Liverpool starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Alisson (GK) — Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson — Gravenberch, Szoboszlai — Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo — Isak
Liverpool subs: Mamardashvili (GK), Woodman (GK), Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Bradley, Mac Allister, Leoni, Ekitike, Ngumoha, Danns.
Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone has a tough job at hand with naming the starting XI against Liverpool, as the La Liga side have quite a list of players with injuries and doubts over their fitness.
Even though the Rojiblancos bagged their first win this season on Saturday, the match saw Julian Alvarez, David Hancko, Nico Gonzalez, and Robin Le Normand leave the pitch with fitness issues. Alvarez is the only one of that quartet to miss out. Nico and Le Normand start, with Hancko among the substitutes.
Atletico are also missing Jose Maria Gimenez, Thiago Almada, and Alex Baena due to their respective injuries, while Johnny Cardoso sustained an ankle problem in training.
Atletico Madrid starting XI (4-4-2, right to left): Oblak (GK) — Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Galan — Simeone, Barrios, Gallagher, Nico — Griezmann, Raspadori
Atletico Madrid subs: Musso (GK), Esquivel (GK), Ruggeri, Koke, Martín, Molina, Hancko, Pubill, Zanzi, Belid, Sorloth.
Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions: