The Athletic journalist James Pearce claimed that Liverpool "lacked a spark in the final third" during Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.An early goal from Saul Niguez proved to be the difference between the two teams in their last-16 first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano.Both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were replaced by head coach Jurgen Klopp during the defeat in Spain.And Pearce was keen to pay tribute to La Liga side Atletico for their impressive defending over the course of the 90 minutes.
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Liverpool, of course, will have the chance to turn the tie around when the two teams meet at Anfield for the second leg next month.
Atletico will head to Merseyside with a one-goal advantage, though, and Pearce claimed that the English club's lack of "spark" in attack caused them to lose on Tuesday night.
The journalist's full-time tweet can be seen below: