Marcos Llorente continues to torment Liverpool. The Atletico Madrid midfielder scored the opening goal in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League group-stage opener at Anfield, marking his fifth career goal against the Reds.
In the 17th minute, Atletico worked a sharp pass into the box. Llorente, starting from right-back, ghosted into the area unmarked and finished emphatically past Alisson. The goal was made possible by Milos Kerkez’s failure to track the run and an error that left Llorente clearly onside.
Liverpool supporters were quick to single out the left-back on X:
- “Kerkez is a MASSIVE liability!”
- “What a disaster that was from Kerkez.”
- “Who bought Kerkez! This guy is so freaking liability.”
- “I’m sorry we’ve get ripped apart again with the same sort of goal we’ve allowed to be scored in the last few games & WTF was Kerkez doing!”
- “Kerkez literally creates his own offside line… then tries to fix it instead of tracking his man. Absolute chaos.”
The criticism reflects growing frustration. Kerkez arrived with a strong reputation from Bournemouth and was expected to lock down the left-back role after replacing Andy Robertson. Instead, repeated positional lapses and reactive defending have left the back line vulnerable, especially against sides that attack the channels with pace and movement.
Atletico’s early goal exposed exactly that vulnerability. Llorente’s run was not especially clever; it simply went untracked. The Spaniard has now scored against Liverpool in multiple competitions across different seasons, and Anfield once again proved a happy hunting ground for him.
Liverpool recovered to win the match, but the early concession and the manner of it will dominate post-match discussion. Questions about Kerkez’s readiness for this level, and whether the defensive structure is tight enough across the entire back four, are unlikely to fade quickly.Llorente’s record against the Reds now stands as a clear pattern. For Liverpool, the pattern of allowing the same type of goal remains the more pressing concern.
