Atlético Madrid travel to Liverpool on Tuesday for Wednesday’s 21:00 Champions League league-phase opener without two first-team options, according to Mundo Deportivo. Diego Simeone cannot count on Alexander Sørloth, still nursing a muscle injury, or Arnau Ortiz, ruled out at Anfield by a suspension carried over from two years ago.

Atlético lose two players for Liverpool opener

Sørloth picked up a muscular contracture the week before the season officially began, and he has not trained with the group since. He has therefore not featured in a single match this campaign, and his current status remains under close watch as Atlético assess whether Monday’s session offers any encouragement before Anfield.

Ortiz’s absence is a different matter entirely. The Catalan winger holds a first-team squad number but will miss out at one of European football’s great stadiums because of a sanction that has been sitting on the books since August 2024.

Why Arnau Ortiz is suspended

The suspension dates back to a Conference League qualifying tie Ortiz played for Polish club Śląsk Wrocław. In the second leg against St Gallen, who had won the first leg 2-0 in Switzerland, Śląsk Wrocław led 3-1 when Ortiz was introduced during extra time.

Only minutes after coming on, he was sent off, picking up one yellow card for simulation and a second for protesting. Two other Śląsk Wrocław players had already been dismissed by that point, and St Gallen went through after scoring a late goal to complete the turnaround.

What happens next

Atlético are due to travel to Liverpool on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s 21:00 kick-off against the ‘red’ side. Sørloth’s participation was still being assessed ahead of Monday’s training session, though Mundo Deportivo describe his situation as complicated, while Ortiz’s absence is treated as settled business tied to the suspension rather than a fitness call.

The gaps come at an awkward moment for Atlético’s attacking options, with Simeone needing to reshuffle his forward line for the trip to Anfield.