CONOR GALLAGHER has followed in David Beckham’s footsteps after starting against Liverpool in the Champions League.
The former Chelsea midfielder was the only Englishman in either Liverpool or Atletico Madrid’s starting XIs for the match.
Gallagher, 25, lined up at Anfield for Diego Simone’s side after becoming a regular for the LaLiga giants.
But he became a centrepiece for an unwanted milestone for English football in the match.
It is the first time in 19 years that a non-English club has provided the only English starter in a Champions League game involving an English club.
The last time the situation occurred was in March 2006 when David Beckham started for Real Madrid against Arsenal.
The Gunners started that game with stars such as the German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, French legend Thierry Henry and the Spaniard Cesc Fabregas.
Los Blancos drew the game but lost the tie, having suffered a 1-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg.
Arne Slot’s side did not have a single Englishman in the starting line-up but did boast Andy Robertson from the United Kingdom.
The Scotsman even netted the opening goal of the game in the fourth minute of the match.
Liverpool did have a number of Englishmen on the bench ready to perform if called upon.
This included defender Joe Gomez, goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, as well as youngsters Jayden Danns and Rio Ngumoha.
Their absence meant Liverpool started the match without a single Englishman for the first time in a major European match.
There was space for British record signing Alexander Isak to make his debut for the Reds.
Slot insisted that it was the “plan all along” for the £130MILLION striker to make his first appearance for the club in this fixture.
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