Madrid and the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium will always remind Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp of one of their greatest achievements together – but Spain has not always been a happy hunting ground for the Reds.

As the German prepares his side for a trip to Atletico Madrid tonight, he will be reminded that he has never led his side to an away victory against Spanish opposition during his six years in the Anfield hotseat.

Despite winning the 2019 Champions League final in the Spanish capital, the Reds have lost four and drawn once at LaLiga sides since Klopp took over in late 2015.

He has taken his team to Villarreal, Sevilla, Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid over the past six years but has come away disappointed each time – even though his Liverpool side have improved and developed as a team.

His first trip to Spain with Liverpool was a trip to Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals during his first season in charge, with the Merseysiders conceding a 92nd-minute winner to go down 1-0 in the first-leg.

Liverpool recovered in the Anfield leg of the tie to progress through to the final, but that loss to the Yellow Submarine was a sign of things to come in Spain.

The Reds next visited the country in November 2017, a group stage trip to Sevilla in Klopp’s first Champions League campaign with the Anfield club, but his side conceded three second-half goals to let a 3-0 half-time lead slip in a frustrating draw.

The following season saw the Reds progress to the Champions League semi-finals where they faced Barcelona, with Lionel Messi inspiring the Catalans to a 3-0 first-leg victory at the Nou Camp.

Liverpool dramatically overturned that three-goal deficit with a 4-0 thrashing of Messi’s side in a memorable Anfield encounter, but the mountain they had to climb came from another dismal outing in Spain.

In fact, Liverpool’s last two exits from the Champions League have come at the hands of Spanish teams, with first-leg away defeats proving to be pivotal in their recent European downfalls.

Klopp’s men lost the opening legs against Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the past two years but could not rely on an Anfield recovery on either of those occasions.

Each of those defeats in Spain were unique in their own right, but a closer look sees common – and unwanted – traits in Liverpool’s displays.

As the Reds prepare for a Wanda Metropolitano return tonight, Sportsmail takes a close look at where they’ve gone wrong in Spain under Klopp.

FAILING TO DEAL WITH LONG BALLS

One of the key tactical ploys that Spanish teams have used to foil Klopp’s Liverpool over the years has been consistent balls over the top of the Reds’ backline.

The LaLiga sides who have welcomed Liverpool to their grounds have tried to get their high defensive line retreating backwards as much as possible, with devastating results on more than one occasion.

In Klopp’s first visit to Spain as Liverpool manager, Villarreal’s winner came from Bruno Soriano producing a wonderful chip over the top of the defence to Denis Suarez, who squared for Adrian Lopez for an easy tap-in.

Against Barcelona in 2019, Arturo Vidal’s long ball over right-back Joe Gomez found Phillippe Coutinho with ease, who then set up left-back Jordi Alba, whose ball beyond the backline put Luis Suarez in for 1-0.

In their most recent trip to Spain against Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane’s side put the ball in behind Liverpool’s defensive line at every opportunity.

Both of Los Blancos’ first-half goals came via Toni Kroos putting the ball over right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, with Vinicius Jr and Marco Asensio getting on the scoresheet at the end of the two moves.

Liverpool’s high line has often been the Reds’ Achilles heel under Klopp and that has not changed this season either. All three of Brentford’s goals against Liverpool came through the Bees putting the ball in behind the Liverpool defence, showing the German has not yet managed to fix his side’s problem.

BSpanish teams have repeatedly tried to hurt the Reds by putting the ball over the top – and Klopp has to try and resolve that issue this evening.

WATCH OUT AT SET PIECES

Another way in which Liverpool have shot themselves in the foot when playing in Spain is through their inability to defend set pieces properly.

In their disappointing 3-3 draw with Sevilla, which saw the Reds concede three times after the interval to let a three-goal lead slip, two of the Spanish side’s goals came from set pieces.

Wissam Ben Yedder’s first goal came from the striker flicking home Ever Banega’s free-kick before any Liverpool defender could come out to meet the ball, while Guido Pizarro’s 94th-minute equaliser came when he pounced on a loose ball as the Reds failed to defend a corner.

Pizarro’s late leveller in Seville was very similar to the goal Saul Niguez scored to earn Atletico Madrid a 1-0 last-16 first-leg win over the Reds in 2020. From Koke’s corner, Fabinho’s clearance ricocheted into the path of Saul who tucked home when the unmarked midfielder pounced on the ball.

Set pieces have been a minor concern for Liverpool so far this season, with the Reds drawing matches against Chelsea and Brentford due to their inability to react to smart dead ball situations from the opposition.

Atletico Madrid will have no doubt been practising set pieces this week ahead of their reunion with Klopp’s Liverpool.

REDS GUILTY OF MISSING BIG CHANCES

One factor which unites all of Liverpool’s winless matches in Spain has been the attackers missing plenty of chances during each game.

Against Villarreal five years ago, the likes of Alberto Moreno, Roberto Firmino and Joe Allen all missed big chances to score what would have earned them a crucial away goal in their semi-final clash.

While Firmino made amends by scoring twice in Liverpool’s return to Spain against Sevilla 18 months later, the Brazilian forward could have netted a third first-half goal to put the game beyond any doubt, while Emre Can missed a crucial chance in the second-half.

The trip to Barcelona in 2019 saw the Reds miss a host of chances to claim an away goal which would have helped their cause, instead of putting them 3-0 down after the first-leg.

Sadio Mane missed two gilt-edged chances in the first-half, James Milner should have found the net twice in the second period while Mo Salah hit the post from a few yards out towards the end of the match.

Salah and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson put efforts wide in their last trip to the Wanda Metropolitano when they should have at least hit the target, and while the Reds were well beaten by Real Madrid last April, Mane and Diogo Jota missed chances to score to make the tie more interesting than a 3-1 first-leg defeat.

Liverpool missing chances is always inevitable given how many opportunities they create, but with 27 goals in their last eight matches in all competitions, the Reds should not be so wasteful tonight.