Jan Oblak: “ Atletico’s Messi ”

After a stellar display against the defending champions, Liverpool, in the second leg of the champions league round of 16, the Los Rojiblancos keeper made the headlines. The 27 year old Slovenian keeper was in inspired form on matchday making a lot of crucial saves.

Though he conceded two goals (1st goal- Gini Wijnaldum, 2nd goal- Firmino), it was his performace that gave Atletico a chance to score and win over Liverpool. After a poor clearance from Adrian fell to Joao Felix who assisted Llorente, Atletico Madrid went on to score another goal through Llorente making it 2–2 (2–3 on agg.). Alvaro Morata added a third goal with a sublime finish making it 2–4 on aggregate. All of this thanks to the unwavering composure of Atleti’s defence and of course, their man of the match, Oblak.

During the press conference, Diego Simione hailed his players for being able to withstand the constant pressure and score on the counter. He also likened his keeper to Messi saying that “He decides games the way Messi does for Barcelona.”

After his performance against Liverpool, Oblak had received a lot of attention from other clubs wanting the Slovenian's signature, with Chelsea being the top contenders.

The loss meant that Atletico ended Liverpool’s 25 match unbeaten home run in European games. Atletico have won their last five two-legged knockout ties against English clubs.