As Liverpool lost the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal match to Atalanta 3-0, Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of a fantastical European farewell at Anfield were severely dashed on Thursday night. The outcome startled the once-exuberant Anfield fans and seriously jeopardizes their prospects of qualifying for Europe. It also breaks their incredible 33-game home unbeaten record.
Atalanta, who are renowned for their attacking ability under Gian Piero Gasperini, arrived in Liverpool with a well-defined game plan and carried it out flawlessly. The Italian team applied intense pressure right away, impeding Liverpool’s typically flowing play and creating mistakes. Harvey Elliott rattled the woodwork before Gianluca Scamacca opened the score in the 38th minute, providing early warning flags. Caoimhin Kelleher, the youthful goalkeeper for Liverpool who started in lieu of the injured Alisson Becker, was only able to parry a low shot from Scamacca into the goal.
In response, Klopp decided to change the game at halfway by substituting Andrew Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Mohamed Salah in an attempt to win it. After the adjustments, Liverpool exerted some pressure, and Virgil van Dijk nearly scored from a corner. But Atalanta never stopped being a threat on the counter, and once again, their expert finishing proved to be crucial. Scamacca was unmarked at the far post by Charles De Ketelaere just past the hour mark, and the striker made no errors to increase Atalanta’s advantage.
Liverpool persisted in their attack, but as each chance went unused, their frustration increased. Usually an enthusiastic presence on the touchline, Jurgen Klopp cut a visibly irritated figure as he pleaded with the home crowd to improve the atmosphere. But the players for Liverpool appeared to have lost faith in themselves, and Atalanta completed a fantastic evening with a third goal in the 83rd minute. The visiting Atalanta supporters went into raptures after Mario Pasalic completed a quick counterattack, leaving Liverpool requiring a huge recovery in the second leg.
The Europa League is completely upended by this outcome. Liverpool is still the favorite on paper, but their performance at Anfield was very different from their season-long dominance of the Premier League. On the other hand, Atlanta has proven they are a formidable team. Their determination to attack and their capacity to take advantage of Liverpool’s weaknesses defensively will give them confidence when they return to Bergamo for the second leg.
The loss also begs the issue of how well Jurgen Klopp will be replaced as manager of Liverpool. The German manager declared earlier in the season that he would retire at the conclusion of the current campaign. There’s growing pressure on Liverpool to close out the season strong and give Klopp a suitable send-off, with their chances of winning the Premier League championship dwindling and their ambitions of qualifying for Europe hanging in the balance.
It should be an intense match for the second leg in Bergamo. Will Atalanta continue to advance toward a possible Europa League victory, or will Liverpool be able to overcome this gap and maintain their ambition of winning Europe? One thing is certain, though: Anfield has been thoroughly rocked. Only time will tell.
