Key events
Preamble
Sometimes, what a game shows is more important than what a game’s worth, and that might be so for Liverpool tonight. After a dreadful season under Arne Slot, they’ve gone into this with the same holes in the team unaddressed, an entirely new system to learn, and a manager inexperienced at elite level. It is not, therefore, surprising that they’ve made a spotty start to the season.
They do, though, boast a serious array of attacking talent that looked like it was starting to click at the weekend. Problem being, there’s a difference between looking good against Ipswich Town and looking good against even this version of Atlético Madrid, a team specifically constructed to ruin anything pleasant an opponent might attempt.
Nor is that the extent of them. In Julian Álvarez, they’ve an all-purpose forward of wit and technique, while Lee Kang-in is a very smart acquisition; both might fancy a go at Liverpool’s defence. And as such, though Andoni Iraola’s men could wear a defeat tonight, were they to win, it’d tell Europe – and even more importantly, themselves – that they’re not to be messed with.
If that was all we had going on, it’d be plenty, but it’s far from the case. PSG begin their quest for a third consecutive Big Ears against Slovan Bratislava, and we will of course, be updating from Napoli v Arsenal and Sporting v Galatasaray.
And, in the Rumbelows, we’ll be following a grudge match with violent roots, as Leeds visit Chelsea, which is to say we’ve another blinding night of our beloved football in prospect.
Kick-offs: 8pm BST
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