Atletico had another good chance just before the hour but a great save from Reina denied Simao, whose thunderous volley from an Ujfalusi cross looked on its way into the top corner.

BBC: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool

Cech then denied Simao Sabrosa, and at the other end Tomas Ujfalusi's header flashed past the past from another corner with Sionko and Milan Baros both just failing to make a vital connection.

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However, Atletico almost went two in front four minutes before the break when their Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi stripped Daniel Agger of the ball on the right side of the box and skipped past two weak challenges before, trying ambitiously to score from a narrow angle, putting the ball into the side of the net.

BBC: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool