Daniel Rouse, Michael J. Chandler

2h ago

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Not since 2008 has Liverpool progressed to the Champions League knockout stage, and by virtue of Wednesday’s 7-0 drubbing of Spartak Moscow, Jurgen Klopp’s charges joined an esteemed class of sides to make the last 16.

When Rafa Benitez led the Reds to a group stage conquest over Atletico Madrid, Marseille, and PSV in 2008-09, it bookended a five-year spell of continental success for the club that included the stunning come-from-behind victory over AC Milan in the final and a corresponding defeat to I Rossoneri two years later.

Looking back at those squads, Liverpool was a balanced and organised side that profitted from equal parts resolute defending and strong midfield play. What those iterations of the club boasted in defence, Klopp’s current lot offers in offence, with a lethal combination of pace and trickery highlighting a team that counter-attacks at breakneck speed.

Now that Klopp and Co. have ended a a nine-year wait for Champions League progression, here’s a composite starting XI from this year’s entry and the sides that enjoyed European success in 2008-09.

The lineup

Bench: Simon Mignolet; Martin Skrtel, Sami Hyypia; Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana; Roberto Firmino, Dirk Kuyt

Goalkeeper

If Mignolet and Loris Karius have produced erratic performances and provoked continual worry, current Napoli shot-stopper Pepe Reina was a symbol of consistency. During his eight-year Merseyside tenure, Reina made 86 continental appearances, missing out on Jerzy Dudek’s display in the miracle in Istanbul by a year.

Defenders

While Joel Matip has shown flashes of brilliance with Liverpool, it’s not enough to make this hypothetical squad, where Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher instead team up as a ball-stopping centre-half pairing. Fabio Aurelio and Alvaro Arbeloa sandwich the central defenders with a blend of old-school, studs-up defending and the penchant for streaking forward that’s common in the modern game.

Midfielders

Xabi Alonso. Javier Mascherano. Steven Gerrard. There’s a reason this three-man Liverpool midfield was about as easy to break down as a retaining wall with deeply dug foundations. This trio had a little bit of everything: Mascherano’s ball-stopping skills were world-class, Stevie G could string a delicate pass while blasting measured shots from distance, and there was no midfielder more adept at stringing a long ball than Alonso.

Forwards

Before Chelsea-era Fernando Torres became the poster boy for failures in the absence of confidence, Liverpool goal machine Fernando Torres was one of Europe’s most clinical finishers. Pairing the Spaniard with star wingers Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah would form an unplayable trio in attack that could score any number of ways.

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It’s been an odd season for Atletico Madrid. Unbeaten in La Liga and now eliminated from the Champions League, the Spanish side has flipped-flopped between good and bad.

Manager Diego Simeone found it “difficult to explain” the paradox after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea – a match Atletico had to win to give itself a chance of reaching the knockout phase. Somehow, his players were able to take four points away from eventual Group C winner Roma, but only two from bottom-feeder Qarabag.

In the end, Atletico was simply too wasteful to advance, producing a horrific shot conversion rate of 4.7 percent in Europe. Simeone’s men had their biggest problems against newcomer Qarabag, scoring just once from 46 shots against the Azerbaijani outfit. A team that depends so much on one-goal victories cannot afford to be that profligate.

It’s clear Atletico’s in a state of flux. Amid claims that Antoine Griezmann may have already checked out, the club has struggled to score on a regular basis. Griezmann’s been asked to play as a traditional No. 9, even though that’s not what he is; as one of the best two-way forwards in world football, his strength is his mobility, not his static poaching ability.

But at the moment, there’s little reprieve. With Fernando Torres nearing the end of his career, Kevin Gameiro out of favour, and both Diego Costa and Vitolo barred from competing until the club’s transfer ban expires, a changing of the guard is waiting to happen.

It’s not so much the end of an era, but instead more of a transition from one to another. By signing a contract extension until 2020, Simeone dispelled any lingering doubts that he no longer has anything to give Atletico. He’s already handed starts to 21-year-old Lucas Hernandez, 22-year-old Angel Correa, and 24-year-old Thomas Partey, while slowly removing stalwarts Gabi, Juanfran, and Diego Godin from the forefront.

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In a system that demands high intensity and constant pressing, it’s difficult to rely on the same players year after year. And many of Simeone’s favourites are now in their 30s.

The move to the new Wanda Metropolitano also raised expectations. Under the brighter lights, perhaps there’s a burden to do more than just eke out results. Yet, that’s what Atletico has done so well under Simeone – pragmatic football that involves winning second balls, dispossessing opponents, and defending in lines of four made the manager’s teams successful. In a bigger stadium, however, Atletico’s brand of football may no longer be good enough.

What cannot be lost is that this team hasn’t given up. The odds were against Atletico as it travelled to London this week, yet the club took the initiative and controlled the play in a positive away performance.

“We looked for it until the end,” Simeone said, courtesy of ESPN FC’s Dermot Corrigan. “I am proud of the team. We worked hard, were competitive. We just tried to do what we could do in the game. … For sure it was a step forward for the team.”

And it really isn’t all that bad. Atletico is only six points behind the La Liga leader, has conceded the fewest goals of any team across the top-five European leagues, and now enters the Europa League as one of the favourites to win it all.

Antonio Conte is keen to remind Atletico Madrid of Chelsea’s form.

On Monday, the day before welcoming Atleti to Stamford Bridge on the final matchday of the Champions League’s group stage, Conte pointed out the Blues are also entering the game on a high.

While Chelsea has already advanced to the Champions League’s knockout phase, Atleti needs a victory to have any chance of progressing from the group stage, and a win won’t be enough if AS Roma beats Qarabag FK in the other Group C game.

“Atletico are always a strong team, before and now,” Conte said. “They are in a good moment of form, but it’s the same for us. Tomorrow, the game will be open because Atletico Madrid will try to win the game, and it’ll be the same for us. The only difference is that the final result for them is very important, and for us we have already qualified, but at the same time a great team has to play every game to try to win.

“The most important thing was to qualify for the next round, because one of Atletico or Roma will go out of this tournament. We must be pleased with our path in this tournament, even if I maybe regret one game against Roma away. We want to play a big game and try to win, that’s normal. If you see the other groups, you have the same risk if you arrive first or second. If you arrive first you can draw Real Madrid or Bayern Munich or Juventus.

“We have to try to do our best tomorrow, and then we will see what happens in the draw.”

Chelsea is unbeaten in six games in all competitions, while Atleti’s only defeat of the season came against Tuesday’s opponents when the Blues exited the Wanda Metropolitano with a last-gasp 2-1 victory on the group stage’s second matchday.

An 89th-minute tap-in from Michael Lang continued a drab personal record for Jose Mourinho against FC Basel, and forced Manchester United to wait until the last matchday to confirm potential progression into the knockout rounds.

United played at a leisurely pace for much of the tie at St. Jakob-Park, and was eventually punished following an improved second-half performance from the home side.

A point in the final meeting with CSKA Moscow on Dec. 5 will still be enough for the Red Devils to secure top spot in Group A. Sounds simple enough, but many would have said the same about Wednesday’s trip to northwestern Switzerland.

United dominated the opening half, albeit in second gear. Basel was lacklustre despite needing a win to keep its knockout-round chances alive, and granted the visitor a series of opportunities. Marouane Fellaini should’ve got himself on the scoresheet, Jesse Lingard was hampered by his own heavy touches, and Marcos Rojo, who returned from a seven-month injury layoff, smashed the woodwork with a 35-yard wallop just before the break.

Basel reversed the trend in the second half, with Lang bouncing a header off the crossbar and several Basel players, including Serey Die and Mohamed Elyounoussi, causing the visitor problems. Eventually the United barricades were breached when Raoul Petretta’s low cross passed a dozy Daley Blind and allowed Lang to pocket an easy far-post finish.