The head coach of Liverpool FC, Dutchman Arne Slot, confirmed the difficulty of the upcoming match against Spanish Atletico Madrid in the first round of the group stage of the 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League, noting the possibility of new signing Alexander Isak participating in the match scheduled for Wednesday evening.

Slot said: "There is definitely a chance for Isak to participate as he is listed in the match squad, which gives him a chance to play, but it is certain that he will not play the full match, we will see what happens later."

Regarding the criticism directed at his team due to the significant spending in the transfer market, Slot explained: "There is a great focus on our signings, especially from some analysts who may support rival clubs, everyone talks about us spending 450 million pounds, but they ignore that we collected 300 million from selling players."

The Dutch coach pointed to the impressive performance of new signing Florian Wirtz, saying: "A lot of focus is on Wirtz, but it cannot be denied that the existing players did not score 4 goals or provide 12 assists as he did. Wirtz is part of a team that won against Newcastle away and against Arsenal at Anfield, results we did not achieve last season, and the team is currently at the top of the league."

Slot added: "We have exceeded our expectations in the summer, everyone knows the extent of the changes that took place, and our schedule has been known from the start. Reaching 12 points in the league after all these changes is a great achievement, even though we can still perform better, but we will not always face teams like Newcastle and Arsenal."

About tomorrow's opponent, the Liverpool coach said: "Atletico Madrid is a tough team thanks to the mentality of their coach Diego Simeone. They have performed excellently in La Liga for years, winning the title and reaching the Champions League final, which shows their strength."

Slot concluded his statements by talking about the last encounter he had with Atletico Madrid: "The last time I faced Atletico, Griezmann was amazing, but today I have players at Liverpool who can do what he used to do. At Feyenoord back then, I loved my team a lot, but they were not at the stage that allowed them to face stars like these."