Liverpool return to the Champions League on Wednesday evening, kicking off the league phase of their 2026-27 European campaign at Anfield under the lights against one of the most consistently difficult opponents in Europe in Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
For new head coach Andoni Iraola, it will be more than just the first European match of the season—it will be the first time he’s managed a club in the Champions League.
Iraola didn’t get the chance to do that at Bournemouth or Rayo Vallecano, though
he did manage AEK Larnaca through a dozen Europa League matches in 2018-19, guiding them through six qualification games but finishing third in a group with Bayer Leverkusen and FC Zürich.
“I think obviously it’s a special night for me,” he noted at his pre-match press conference. “Everyone talks of Champions League nights at Anfield and also it’s the first game against a strong opposition, it’s Atletico Madrid.
“Simeone is doing an incredible job as a manager. To be though all the years he has achieving every season the goals of the club I think is remarkable and definitely a big challenge for us. I played against him as a player and I played against his teams when he was a coach and I also coached against him, so we have a lot of precedent.
“Befinitely he has more experience than me in these kinds of games, but I hope tomorrow we can give him a good game. It’s a big responsibility, a massive challenge, but I feel privileged and now my thinking is about putting the team in a position where we can play a good game, win the game, and start strong.”
Whatever happens on Wednesday, Liverpool’s second Champions League game doesn’t arrive until October 14th following the first international break of the season, with the Reds set to head to Austria to take on LASK before a week later Villarreal come to Anfield.
Worrying about those games is for the future, though. In the present, it’s Alteti. And based on the history of how they play generally—and some of the results they’ve gotten against Liverpool in particular—the expectation will be for it to be a very tough first test in the Champions League for Iraola and his Reds.
“It’s the first game against probably one of the strongest opponents we are going to face,” Iraola added. “But in the end it’s football and we play against very good teams also in the Premier League. I think I also kind of know Atletico Madrid, some of their players, their manager.
“But it’s going to be a big test. It’s the first game in the Champions League against another big club. It’s a great game to play, it’s a massive test for the team, and I think it will show us a little bit where we are. We showed last Friday good signs and now let’s see against a team like Atletico Madrid where we are.”
