Give Him The Money…

September 10, 2026

Andoni’s first European game and we won. He couldn’t ask for any more could he. It was a classic European night, but we did okay and deserved to win and in the second half it sounded like Anfield had found a bit of its voice. I think the referee helped. Watching him gave me the impression that there was something in the laws of the game that got lost in translation. To be fair, I thought Atlético were the better side for the first half hour and deserved to go in front after some scrappy play on our part. Once Dominik had levelled, we were the better ones. It’s early days but Ronald Araújo is becoming a favourite of mine. Involved in the goal and when the Spaniards tried to attack, he always seemed at ease with the situation. Jérémy Jacquet is looking like a sound investment as well. All the media talk, social and mainstream, seemed to be about Alexis Mac Allister having a bit of a bag on due to not being offered a new contract last season. If last night was anything to go by, give him the money…! Atlético are not the force they were a few years back, but neither are we. A bit of transition on both sides. For us having Rio and BarCOLA on the wings was interesting. Neither had great games but both did okay. Not too many step overs might be something for Rio to think about. A winning start for us and Andoni and another small step in the right direction.