Liverpool news: Reds set for Champions League boost after Diego Simeone chaos

Liverpool once again left it perilously late to secure all three points with a header from Virgil van Dijk clinching victory against Atletico Madrid in their first Champions League game of the season on Wednesday evening. Arne Slot's team seemed to be in cruise control thanks to early goals from Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah.

However, true to Liverpool's recent flair for drama, the Premier League champions squandered their lead as Marcos Llorente scored twice to bring Diego Simeone's team back into contention. For the fifth consecutive match, the Reds were saved by a last-minute winner, this time courtesy of their iconic captain. With Atletico manager Diego Simeone at the centre of a contentious confrontation with a fan during the Champions League tie and a substantial financial windfall on the horizon for Slot, we take a look at all the latest news from Anfield.

Champions League cash boost

The revamped Champions League format is now in its second year, bringing with it a significant increase in prize money for participating clubs. The total prize fund has risen by a third this season.

The total prize money now stands at £2.06billion, up from £1.74bn under the previous format. Such is the financial reward that every qualifying club receives £15.7million, regardless of their performance in the league phase.

At the present stage, each victory nets a club £1.8m whilst a draw will secure teams £590,000. Liverpool pocketed £1.8m for their victory on Wednesday, whilst eight wins in the group stage will see them collect a cool £14.4m.

Each team who finished in the top eight of the league phase will also receive £1.7m from UEFA. This provides Slot's side with significant incentive to match last season's performance where they won the league phase.

Simeone hits back

Simeone has responded to his confrontation with Liverpool supporters following Van Dijk's stoppage time winner. The unsavoury episode saw the Argentinian receive a red card from the referee.

Subsequently, Simeone explained to the media why he reacted angrily towards supporters. "They always talk about taking care of each other, but they insult you throughout the entire match and you can't say anything because you're the manager," he said.

"My reaction was unjustifiable, but do you know what it's like to be insulted for 90 minutes, to turn around after the opponent scores and still be insulted? It's not that easy. (The referee told me) he understood me. I hope Liverpool can improve that aspect and that when they identify the person who did that, there will be consequences.

"There were insults throughout the match, including gestures. It's clear that I'm the one who has to stay calm, I have to put up with the insults, the gestures and any situation. Because I'm in a position where I have to put up with it."

Jamie Carragher's two-word response

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher had a succinct two-word response to sum up the Reds' last-minute victory on Wednesday night. Remarkably, in all five matches this season, Liverpool have netted their winning goal in either the 83rd minute or later.

These last-gasp victories have led rival fans to label the Premier League table-toppers as fortunate. However, ex-Reds defender Carragher embraced Liverpool's eleventh-hour luck with a cheeky social media post, writing: "Devil's club," accompanied by five laughing emojis.

While some of the Anfield faithful, including Carragher, may be revelling in the late drama, goalscorer Robertson isn't quite as enthusiastic. "I think we need to maybe get back to winning a bit simpler and a bit easier," he admitted to TNT Sports post-match.

Reds head coach Slot agreed, adding: "I think that's what we showed again today, that we can beat them also by mentality. But I think we should have made it easier for ourselves."