Andoni Iraola reflected on his first victory as a head coach in the Champions League as Liverpool earned a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on the opening matchday of the competition’s league phase.
‘We were pushing and you can feel the atmosphere’
Liverpool again fell behind in a fixture at the start of this season with their new Basque boss as Julian Alvarez threaded a through ball for Marcos Llorente to land another dagger at Anfield.
But goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister turned around the scoreline, and the Reds have now won back-to-back games under Iraola after their 2-0 victory against Ipswich Town.
“I have to blame myself a little bit for the start of the game. I think Atletico has used a structure that they haven't used before this season and it has cost us a little bit to match up properly. I think until we conceded the goal and we've had a couple of minutes where we've adjusted things and [then] we match up much better. It was the moment where we started playing better.
“Obviously after half-time, you have more time [then], [but] everything was better set. In the second half I think we were the best team. I think the team [and] the players have shown big character - big character. Also, the crowd has helped us massively in the second half. You know, in these kinds of nights you are there doing your job, but you also can enjoy it.
“I really enjoyed it. There is a part where you are in charge of the game and you cannot think too much about the atmosphere. But especially after the 2-1, we've had very good minutes there and we've had a couple of chances. We were pushing and you can feel the atmosphere in the stadium.
“Even in moments at the end where obviously they are attacking a little bit and you have to defend and players are tired. The people have helped us a lot and I'm very thankful.
“I'm happy today because we faced a very tough situation starting the game [by] conceding the first goal [and] not having the plan very clear in terms of they changed some things. I think we've corrected quite well live, and this experience will help us for the next time. We don't have three years of experience where you can say, 'You remember this one?' Then you correct things.
“Here [right] now you have to talk with a lot of players, you have to correct and to get results. To go in behind [and] win the game… I think it's in four games [it's] three times that we've come back somehow. I think it shows that players are pushing, [they] are showing character and now it's a matter of getting everything cleaner and sharper.”
