Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock hailed the "exquisite" defending of Atletico Madrid that helped the Spanish side take the advantage in their Champions League last-16 tie against the Reds .
Saul Niguez scored in the fourth minute of the game at the Wanda Metropolitano on Tuesday night, with the hosts then holding onto that 1-0 lead which they will now take to Anfield.
The defeat was the first that Jurgen Klopp had experienced in charge of the Reds since the 2-0 loss to Napoli on Matchday 1 of the Champions League in September, with a Neil Critchley-managed youth side going down 5-0 at Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in December.
Warnock was co-commentating on the match for BBC Radio Five Live, and was hugely impressed with the hosts.
"As a former defender myself, it was exquisite to watch," he told BBC Sport .
"When you saw it from the vantage point myself and (commentator) John Murray had in the stadium, you could see the effort and organisation that went into it - the lines Atletico keep, how compact they are, and the space they close down so the gaps in midfield are so small.
"Their teamwork was absolutely phenomenal, and their manager Diego Simeone was like the conductor on the touchline.
"Whether he was pushing his players up, or dragging them back, they did exactly what he asked them to do."
Simeone hailed the welcome his team received from the fans before the game.
“I think we started winning the game when our bus turned at the roundabout and we saw the reaction of the people," he told his post-match press conference. "It enthused us. Something beautiful woke up in us.
“The feeling that came out of the people, the reply of the people, I've rarely seen from our fans at this level. They were there the whole game. It made me want to put my boots on and go on the pitch."
