Adrian vs Oblak – where Liverpool lost and Atletico won

Liverpool had 34 shots to Atletico’s 7.

From Liverpool’s shots – Yes, not all of the were lethal. Yes, not all of them were properly taken. In fact, Oblak probably made 4 brilliant saves and 5 of them were regular. 

As for Atletico’s shots – out of 7 shots, 3 were out of target. Which means from 4 shots on target, Atletico scored 3. The one Adrian saved, was straight in his lap. 

Now looking at the goals Oblak conceded – one was the standout goal of the match – a brilliant leap and a bounced header to the top corner from Gini Wijnaldum, the other was a tap into an empty net from Firmino after Oblak had dived for the previous shot and ball fell kindly to the Brazilian a yard outside the goal line. 

As for Adrian’s goals – the first goal he conceded was after losing the ball cheaply and then being left out of position, the second was a shot from outside the box which can be saved, the third one was a finish at the near post – a good finish but the best keepers (like Oblak could have done better).

So here we can see simply by stats only how Liverpool lost directly goalkeeper vs goalkeeper. However, what this does is much more psychological than the actual shots ratio.

Oblak’s couple of brilliant saves set the mindset in Liverpool players that they have to come up with something extraordinary to beat the Atleti goalie. Which added to their pressure of scoring and hence not too many shots were taken from tough angles as the players kept trying to pass into an obvious scoring positions.

However, it was clear from Atleti they knew Adrian was the weak point and he was targeted – shots from outside the box, flash shots, closing down and wining the ball – and it worked!

Missing Alisson anyone?

See More: Liverpool Champions League titles: All Champions League titles won by Liverpool