When Liverpool first welcomed Atletico Madrid to Anfield, back in November 2008, it was a match littered with narratives.
And none was bigger than Fernando Torres. Having signed from Atleti the previous year, and gone on to establish himself as one of the planet’s best strikers during his first season on Merseyside, a reunion with his boyhood club was the main talking point when the Champions League group stage draw was made.
Alas, the Spaniard would miss the encounter with the same injury that had ruled him out of the first game between the sides at the Vicente Calderon two weeks earlier.
Fabio Carvalho on showdown talks with Jurgen Klopp and making Liverpool transfer collapse
Emre Can sends clear Liverpool message after reaching Champions League final
Meanwhile, Madrid's ranks included former Reds Luis Garcia and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, as the duo made their Anfield returns, Manchester United old-boy and Liverpool tormentor Diego Forlan, as well as previous Rafa Benitez targets Simao Sarbrosa, Sergio Aguero and Tomas Ujfalusi.
Reds boss Benitez had famously tried to sign Simao, who scored in the first meeting between the two sides in the Spanish capital, in the summer of 2005, only for Benfica to pull the plug at the 11th hour when the Portuguese winger was at the airport, despite having already agreed an £8m fee, in fear of supporter backlash.
Liverpool had also been in talks to sign Aguero from Independiente in 2006, only for Benitez to decide against buying the then-18-year-old, believing it was too big a risk spending a significant figure on the teenager at the time. Aguero would sign for Atletico instead that summer in a €20m deal. As for Ujfalusi, he would later claim he rejected the Reds' advances in the
Read on liverpoolecho.co.uk