Title defenders Liverpool eliminated from UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League title holders Liverpool crashed out of this year's competition after suffering a shocking 2-3 loss against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie at Anfield on Wednesday.

Atletico struck three times during extra time to earn a last-eight spot. The Spanish side qualified for the quarter-finals after winning 4-2 on aggregate.

The Madrid side was trailing 1-0 after 90 minutes, as Georginio Wijnaldum netted the ball in the 43rd minute to help the hosts level the aggregate score. The match had to go into extra time and things started to look up for Liverpool. In the 94th minute, Roberto Firmino scored the second for the Reds and kept his club's hopes alive.

Atletico was 0-2 down (1-2 agg), substitute Marcos Llorente orchestrated a comeback and struck twice to take the aggregate lead (3-2). Alvaro Morata scored a late third to ensure victory for Diego Simeone's team against a British side that had remained unbeaten in their last 25 home games in the European competition.

After half-time, Liverpool kept Atletico keeper Jan Oblak busy. However, the Spaniards did just enough to survive. The visitors almost pulled off a last-minute shock but Saul Niguez's header was ruled offside.

After the match, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that he is a "bad loser." He also complained that Atletico Madrid didn't play "proper football."

He said, "Our first, main mistake tonight was that we scored the second goal too late; we scored in extra time and not in the 90 minutes, so that was our fault. I don't understand with the quality they have that they play this kind of football, I don't understand to be honest. When I see players like Koke, Saul, Llorente, they could play proper football, but they sat deep in their own half and have counter-attacks."

Things went wrong for Klopp's side, courtesy of a mistake committed by goalkeeper Adrian, who gifted Llorente his first goal.

Liverpool maintained 72% ball possession throughout the match, but their presence on the field never seemed like a team that had been dominating the season so far. When it mattered the most for the Reds, they choked and committed multiple errors with the ball.

In all aspects of the game, Liverpool maintained their superiority but in terms of goals scored, it is Atletico that had the last laugh. What could have been a spectacular season for the Reds turned into a bittersweet experience for them, as the season approaches its climax.