After Liverpool emphatically beat Bayern Munich 3-0 on Tuesday, the Reds would have been looking for another impressive performance to triumph over Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.

It was very quiet opening to the final, with neither side creating a chance in the opening ten minutes. Liverpool took the initiative and started to control the play in the middle of the park with Atletico happy to sit back. The Reds first chance came after Ben Woodburn delivered a delightful ball in from the left, which was met by Dominic Solanke. The young Englishman rose highest but glanced his header just wide of the Atletico far post.

Woodburn looked lively in the early stages of the game. Adam Lallana dinked a ball in to the far post for the 17-year-old, who tried a scissor-kick volley. Unfortunately for the Welshman the ball flew a few yards wide.

The first goal came just after the half hour mark when Atletico's Matías Kranevitter delivered a dangerous cross into the Liverpool box. Ángel Correa's initial strike brought an impressive save from goalkeeper Danny Ward, but he was only able to tip the ball onto the bar and it rebounded out to Bare who headed the ball into empty net.

Liverpool quickly settled back into their rhythm in the early stages of the second half but struggled to break down the impressive Atletico defence. The Reds were pushing for an equaliser and dominated possession for the majority of the second half while Atletico seemed very happy to soak up the pressure.

It took the Reds 82 minutes to find a response after Origi went down to earn a controversial penalty. Gabi made contact with Divock Origi but the Liverpool striker went to ground with a delayed fall. Firmino made no mistake from the spot and sent Miguel Ángel Moyà the wrong way as he placed the penalty into the right hand corner of the net.

Atletico did have a chance to win it it the final few minutes. Nicolás Gaitán delivered a corner to the near post which was headed towards goal by Lucas Hernández, but Ward produced another stunning save to push the ball over the bar.

The winner of the Audi Cup was to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Jordan Henderson's strike was saved by Atletico goalkeeper Moyà, which proved costly for Liverpool as the Spanish side scored five out of five to win the comeptition.

Liverpool have one more friendly match against Athletic Bilbao before the start of the Premier League season and Atletico Madrid will look forward to playing against Brighton and Hove Albion before they kick off their La Liga campaign.

Keidi Bare

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