English clubs enjoyed a perfect night in Wednesday’s premier UEFA Champions League encounters, as Liverpool fought back from a goal down to defeat Atlético Madrid 2–1, while Arsenal secured a hard-fought 1–0 away victory against Napoli.
At Anfield, Atlético stunned the home crowd in the 17th minute when Marcos Llorente capitalized on a setup from Julián Álvarez, beating the goalkeeper with a sharp left-footed strike to put Diego Simeone’s side ahead.
Liverpool restored parity before the interval through Dominik Szoboszlai in the 40th minute, before Alexis Mac Allister completed the comeback with a second goal just five minutes into the second half.
The goal carried historic significance for Llorente, who reached his fifth career UEFA Champions League goal at Anfield—making him the highest-scoring visiting player at the stadium in the competition’s modern era.
The victory also marked a triumphant Champions League managerial debut for Andoni Iraola, with Liverpool repeating their opening-match victory over Atlético for a second consecutive season following their 3–2 win in the previous campaign.
In Italy, Arsenal were made to wait until the 75th minute to breach Napoli’s resolute defense, with captain Martin Ødegaard striking the decisive goal to hand the Premier League champions three valuable opening points in their European journey.
Mikel Arteta’s side made it four wins from four official matches across all competitions this season, conceding just once and keeping three clean sheets—a display that underscores the defensive solidity that led them to last season’s final.
In Wednesday’s other fixture, Sporting CP recovered from an early setback to defeat Galatasaray 3–1. Geny Catamo, Luis Suárez, and Rodrigo Zalazar all found the net for the Portuguese side after an early Gonçalo Inácio own goal had given the visitors the lead.
