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Marcos Llorente haunted Liverpool again in the Champions League after scoring a brace on Wednesday night, and he adores Anfield so much that he decided to name his dog after the iconic stadium.
Llorente scored both of Atleti's goals in a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday, equalizing in the 81st minute. Llorente also scored a brace in his last game at Anfield, when Atleti eliminated Liverpool from the Champions League in 2020 following a 4-2 win.
While Llorente's stunning record continued, Liverpool were victorious after Virgil van Dijk scored a header in the 92nd minute to secure a fifth-straight victory. Atleti head coach Diego Simeone was sent off moments later, after clashing with a Liverpool fan and showing frustration toward officials.
The result wasn't what Atleti wanted, but Llorente now has four goals in two games at Anfield. The Spaniard either attempted to troll Liverpool fans or show his love for Anfield five years ago, when announcing that his dog had been named after the stadium.
Llorente posted a picture of his dog looking outside in 2020, when Spain was locked down due to the coronavirus outbreak. "Day 22 - Anfield watching the world go by," he wrote as the caption.
The Spaniard has been used as a right-back under Simeone, but was previously a midfielder for Atleti and Real Madrid. Llorente came through the Madrid academy, but only made 39 appearances for Los Blancos across three seasons.
Llorente impressed during a season-long loan at Alaves in 2016-17 and was eventually signed for $47 million by Atleti. Since joining Madrid's rivals in 2019, Llorente has made 256 appearances across all competitions.
The Spaniard has only scored seven Champions League goals for Atleti, but four have come at Anfield. After fighting back from a 2-0 deficit on Wednesday, Atleti saw their late equalizer canceled out by Van Dijk.
Llorente said: "It's a shame, we haven't stopped believing. They're a great team, and at home too. From a corner, I don't know what happened, but they scored a great goal.
"Self-criticism, we can't come out the way we did, with two goals in five minutes... We showed that if we're together, with clear ideas, we can fight against any team.
"That goal at the end could always happen. Van Dijk is a great finisher. What can't happen are goals so early. It's the first Champions League match, there's still a long way to go."
Llorente praised Liverpool further when reacting to the opening 10 minutes of the game. Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah put Liverpool 2-0 ahead before Llorente's brace brought Atleti level.
"They're a great opponent, they got us very easily," he added. "They caught me far away, but they combined well, with one-twos. We have to resolve it."
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