Eiraola: Atlético Madrid surprised me, and I'm happy with this experience

Andoni Iraola, the manager of Liverpool, expressed his great happiness with the performance of his players following their hard-fought victory over Atlético Madrid by a score of 2-1 in the first round of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Aïrola stated in remarks to TNT Sports: "It's hard to ask for more. I think we showed great character, especially the players after a difficult start."

He added about the atmosphere at Anfield: "I loved it, the atmosphere was absolutely amazing and I feel lucky to have experienced this."

He continued: "I think I have to take responsibility for what happened at the beginning, because they surprised me a little tactically, as they played with five defenders, in a 5-3-2 formation. We were expecting something different and waited until we corrected that. After the end of the first half, we played a much better match, pressed better, and I think we were the better team."

Speaking about Alexis Mac Allister, Alphonse Areola praised the intelligence of the Argentine midfielder, saying: "Yes, a great goal for him and also for Dominik Szoboszlai. They ran a lot. Alexis was very clever, and I think the first yellow card was very easy. They were pushing for the second card. He is a smart player and managed to get through that."

Regarding Parkula's injury: "No, just muscle cramps, especially for Bradley, we are kind of dealing with him a bit quickly. We wanted him to be there, but in the end we decided to tell him: give us all you have, and this is the most he has. We will see how they recover for the next match."

Regarding the atmosphere of the fans during the match: "I was enjoying it. They are a very good team. Technically, they have great players in midfield. It is not easy to press these players, as they have the quality."

Liverpool manager said: "They have been playing together for a long time. We managed to achieve another comeback after Forest, and after Newcastle. We still have this thing we need to improve on in the starts of matches, but I am happy that we showed some character."

He concluded: "This is the UEFA Champions League, there are no easy matches."