Atletico Madrid 1 Liverpool 0:Liverpool failed to gain any reward for their valiant efforts in making the long-haul trip to Madrid as a familiar foe gave Atletico a 1-0 victory in their Europa League semi-final first leg.
Former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan hit a scrappy winner in only the ninth minute but the tie is far from over and even without an away goal Rafael Benitez’s side will be optimistic of overturning the result at Anfield next week.
The Reds missed their injured striker Fernando Torres almost as much as the former darling of the Vicente Calderon missed the chance to face his old club, having also been denied that opportunity in the Champions League last season because of more fitness problems.
Benitez had insisted the 1,200-mile journey by coach, train and eventually plane — after Uefa’s insistence the match go ahead despite the volcanic ash cloud which grounded flights across Europe — had brought his squad closer together.
If only his defence had been tighter-knit in the ninth minute then they may not have conceded.
No one will ever really know whether their exertions in getting to the Spanish capital had an effect but it was a sloppy piece of marking which cost them.
Forlan became something of a cult hero among United fans with both goals in a 2-1 victory at Anfield in 2002, albeit assisted, it has to be said, by Reds goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.
And it was he who returned to haunt the Merseysiders when Jose Manuel Jurado’s cross from the left dropped over Jamie Carragher and picked him out on the edge of the six-yard area.
His first attempt at a header was reminiscent of those early United days when he earned the nickname “Diego Forlorn” because of his difficulty in scoring.
However, the Uruguayan is a better, more experienced — and even luckier — player now and as ball from his duffed header dropped right at his feet he poked it home off goalkeeper Jose Reina.