There are few stadium experiences more famous in world football than Liverpool’s European nights under the lights at Anfield. With a heavyweight opponent arriving on Merseyside for matchweek one of the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League, we could be set for another classic evening.
That will be the hope of the fans arriving with hopes of helping the Reds to another famous victory, this time against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. It will also be the hope of Liverpool manager Arne Slot,
who’s doing his part ahead of kickoff to remind the home supporters of the important role they have to play.
“When the draw was first made we knew that we were in a difficult group and this feeling was underlined when it was confirmed that our first game would be against Atletico,” Slot noted. “I am sure that this is the kind of fixture that UEFA had in mind when they made changes to the format not so long ago.
“We face up to a tie—not just tonight but also later in the group stage—that could quite easily be a Champions League quarter-final, semi-final, or even a final. This means we have to be ready for the challenges that we know Atletico will bring. Under Diego Simeone they are always competitive.
“Atletico are one of the most consistent teams in Europe and I know it is very early in this season’s Champions League with another seven group games to go after this fixture but I don’t think it could ever be too soon to have a special European atmosphere at Anfield—our fans know how much of a difference they can make.”
Liverpool won their last two European outings against Atleti, both group stage affairs in 2021-22, but the fans will also remember Round of 16 disappointment in 2019-20, and keeping that season’s heartbreak in mind might just help them to be even more fired up for tonight and their La Liga opposition.
