DEJA VU?
Liverpool fans will be worried about this Champions League stat following first leg defeat at Atletico Madrid
By Jackson Cole
Liverpool must overturn a 1-0 deficit for their Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid after suffering a defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Pre-match, Jurgen Klopp's side had very good memories having lifted the iconic trophy at Atletico's ground last season.
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Saul's goal gives Atletico the narrow advantage in the tie
But it was a rather sobering experience this time around with Saul Niguez's early tap-in enough to get the 1-0 victory for Diego Simeone's side.
Liverpool were not at their best and only had one clear-cut chance when Mohamed Salah headed the ball just wide of Jan Oblak's goal.
The visitors actually failed to register a single shot on target in the entire match – the first time that's happened to them in all competitions this season – such was Atleti's superb defensive organisation.
However, the tie is far from over with the two sides meeting for the second leg at Anfield on March 11 and Liverpool have emerged victorious from far worse positions in their illustrious history.
Liverpool were not at their best on Tuesday but will come again for the second leg
But Liverpool fans will not like the look of this stat ahead of their crunch match.
Cast your minds back to 2006, defending European champions Liverpool had made it safely through the group stage and were drawn against Benfica in the last-16.
They went to Portugal in the first leg and were beaten 1-0 thanks to defender Luisao's header.
Reds boss at the time Rafael Benitez would have taken that scoreline ahead of the second leg at Anfield but things did not work out the way Liverpool would have liked.
Instead, they wasted a hatful of chances and were knocked out of the competition with a 2-0 loss and 3-0 defeat on aggregate.
Liverpool last won the competition in 2005 and were eliminated at the last-16 in the Champions League defence
Simao Sabrosa, remember him, scored a spectacular opener in the first half while Fabrizio Miccoli put the Reds out of their misery with an overhead kick in the final minutes.
They go into the second leg trailing by the same scoreline but this Liverpool side will be determined not to make this potential curse come true.