Marcos Llorente struck again at Anfield on Wednesday evening, netting his fifth goal against Liverpool in the Champions League to give Atletico Madrid the edge in their European tie. The Spanish midfielder's 16th-minute finish extended a remarkable personal record that defies conventional logic: he has become the visiting player with the most Champions League goals against Liverpool on their own pitch.
Llorente's tally of five goals across three separate matches at Anfield now surpasses Karim Benzema's four, a benchmark set by one of modern football's most prolific strikers. What makes this achievement even more striking is the timeline: a brace in the 2019-20 round of 16, another two-goal haul in last season's group stage, and now this latest clinical finish. In just three encounters on Merseyside, the Atletico midfielder has engineered a personal dominance rarely seen in European club football.
Unmatched Record Against Liverpool
The statistical portrait grows more unusual with each passing fixture. Llorente has scored ten Champions League goals for Atletico Madrid overall, meaning exactly half have come specifically against Liverpool at their fortress. He has netted three times at his own Wanda Metropolitano stadium in the competition—fewer than he has managed in a single opponent's away ground. Only Real Madrid as a club have scored more at Anfield in European competition with eight goals, making Llorente's individual haul particularly striking.
His five goals alone eclipse the combined total of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, and PSV Eindhoven against Liverpool in the Champions League. This peculiar imbalance—excelling dramatically away while finding it harder at home—underscores how football's greatest individual records sometimes transcend positional logic or predictable patterns. As the tie continues, Llorente's Anfield curse for Liverpool continues to deepen.
