Luis Suarez’s homecoming to Anfield turned bittersweet as
Liverpool beat 10-man  Atletico Madrid 2-0
at home in the Champions League on Wednesday, hanging Roji Blancos’ European
dreams in the balance.

Goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane saw Liverpool through
as the Reds maintained their firm hold on Group B with four wins in as many
matches. Atletico are third on the table with just one win from four games.

Liverpool had never opened a Champions League group stage with four wins, though it was rarely troubled against Atlético.

Jota opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 13th
minute of the game as the Portuguese striker ghosted into the penalty area and
headed the ball past Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak from close range.

Mane soon made it 2-0 in the 21st minute of the
game by latching on to a shot by left-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and beating
the goalkeeper.

Things went from bad to worse in the first half itself for
Atletico as Felipe was given his marching orders for a late tackle on Mané.

The Reds thought they had tripled their lead in the second
half when  Jota slotted home from 15
yards but the VAR  disallowed the goal by
giving an offside.

And the same happened to the away side soon after as
Suárez’s finished was adjudged to have been illegal.

The four teams with four straight wins — after Bayern Munich and Juventus sealed their places in the knockout stages of the tournament on Tuesday — have already given the knockout lineup a nostalgic feel. Ajax, Bayern, and Liverpool combined to win all eight European Cup titles from 1971-78.

(With AP input)