Marcos Llorente’s double knocked Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League leaders out of the Champions League in a thrilling night at Anfield.
“I contacted several clubs. One of those was Liverpool.”
That was Julio Llorente, speaking to Cadena Ser last year after his nephew completed a controversial £36 million switch from one Madrid giant to another.
But it was what Julio said next that will feel like an icy dagger through the hearts of Liverpool fans everywhere.
Marcos Llorente, it seems, was not a ‘priority’ for a Reds side who felt they were lacking neither quality nor quantity in the centre of the park.
With Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner and Naby Keita all competing for a place in the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s midfield, you can understand why they turned their nose up at the chance to bring a Spain U21 international to Anfield in the summer of 2019.
But, if Llorente travelled to Anfield on Wednesday night with a point to prove, prove it he certainly did.
The Atletico Madrid enforcer, on paper at least, is a ball-winning terrier of a midfielder, far more comfortable stopping goals than he is scoring them. But, in the space of just 15 extra times minutes at Anfield, Llorente almost single-handedly knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League.
Twice in the blinking of an eye the 25-year-old pinged a pinpoint, long-range shot into the corner of Adrian’s net. And, just to put the cherry on the icing on the cake, it was Llorente who sent Alvaro Morata clear to seal a stunning 3-2 win that will go down in Atletico’s history.
Talk about the most unexpected of heroes. Liverpool certainly never saw this coming.
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