Liverpool 3-2 Atletico Madrid (Robertson 4′, Salah 6′, Van Dijk 90+2 | Llorente 45+3, 81 )

“Conspicuous consumption” was how the economist Thorstein Veblen termed it. Arne Slot was never likely to attract much sympathy for the headaches induced by splashing £450m on his squad this summer.

Yet as Anfield erupted to the sound of Virgil van Dijk’s headed injury-time winner that overcame Atletico Madrid, the Liverpool boss must have breathed in a moment of quiet satisfaction. It looked for all the world like his side had squandered a two-goal lead; by the end of the night, he seemed that much closer to working out the XI that can make his side champions again.

As soon as Alexander Isak’s name appeared on the teamsheet, the tactical gymnastics facing Slot came into force. In the early wee

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