I feel like crosses are a very valid tactic. What annoyed me initially is that Liverpool weren't doing the obvious thing and getting in crosses from the byline, cos Atleti were dealing quite easily with TAA's crosses from midway, and playing through them just ain't happening. As soon as they did, Wijnaldum scores. Seemed like the front three all had issues with close control too, and that's a bit weird for Firmino and Mane in particular. Otoh, that seems to be a weakness of Salah's game, reliability in those areas - he gave the ball away so often. I thought Oxlade-Chamberlain had a massive game, as did Wijnaldum - criticisms of Liverpool's midfield always seem wide of the mark, as if sparing the front three from criticism. Gomez continues to join them in being very underrated. As for the keeper - to make the same mistake twice is carelessness...would Liverpool even be looking at a CL treble with even moderately reliable goalies aside from Allison?
Mostly it played out a bit like the Napoli games - Liverpool really struggle against well-marshalled defences set up to frustrate, whereas they eviscerate suspect defences like Man City or Barcelona, however good the attacking counterbalance. But then, even Messi couldn't always unlock those types of teams, and that clash of irresistible force vs immovable object brought us what might be seen as the 2010s' most epochal clash despite occurring in its first year, the second leg of Barcelona-Inter.
It's all a bit reminiscent of boxing - some opponents are just built to get the better of others, and Atleti seemed like Liverpool's/Klopp's nightmare well before last night. Just as Real somehow had the sign over Atletico themselves through those big CL games, could always find a way.
Interesting that Simeone namechecked Dortmund as a truly formidable side to face at home, as opposed to Liverpool - was this another swipe at Klopp, or a kind of tribute?