Atalanta 0 Liverpool 1 (3-1 agg): Reds crash out of Europa League as Anfield demolition comes back to bite them
THEY had a decent go but there was to be no miracle in Italy. Not like in Istanbul in 2005 or against Barcelona in 2019.
And so there was no happy ending in Europe for departing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Ultimately, the worst performance of his spell as manager, seven days earlier at Anfield, was enough to see his team ejected from the quarter-finals of the Europa League, a competition they seemed destined to win.
Yet while many thought Liverpool’s name was on the trophy, Atalanta rubbed it out.
Mo Salah got Liverpool’s fans dreaming with a seventh-minute penalty but ultimately, they did not have enough against Gian Piero Gasperini’s team who, admittedly, found it difficult to approach this leg with a 3-0 lead.
But they did enough to win and now, Klopp must focus on his final six games as manager, all in the Premier League, starting with Fulham away on Sunday.
As expected, Liverpool – buoyed by that early goal – had plenty of possession but when they really needed to, were unable to create too many clear-cut chances.
Had Liverpool reached the final of the Europa League in Dublin on May 22, you can only imagine how many fans would have flocked to Ireland by land, sea and air. It would surely have numbered over 100,000.
But here, Klopp’s final game in Europe was watched by just 750 fans – along with a few who sneaked into home areas.
Atalanta, who had former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac at the back and ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca up front, celebrated their greatest ever achievement by reaching the last four.
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Initially, the omens looked decent for Liverpool. In that 4-0 win over Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals, the Reds took the lead after seven minutes through Divock Origi and they did it again to lead with exactly the same amount of time on the clock.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross hit Matteo Ruggeri’s arm and after a VAR check, Mo Salah sent keeper Juan Musso the wrong way from the spot.
Featuring in his hybrid role where he drifts from right-back into midfield, the fit-again Alexander-Arnold caused Atalanta a few problems. He had the most first half touches (60), most passes (44) and also had a couple of shots.
Looking extremely nervous and not quite sure how to approach the situation, Atalanta were forced into hurried clearances by booting the ball into nowhere – and this was in the first 30 minutes.
There were only a couple of difficult moments at the back for Liverpool in the first half as Atalanta struggled to get forward.
Alisson pulled off a spectacular save to prevent Virgil van Dijk from scoring an own goal but it would not have counted because of an offside.
Teun Koopmeiners also drilled a shot past Alisson but as he went to celebrate in front of the ultras in the Curva Nord, the flag was once again raised.
Before half-time, Salah wasted a terrific chance and in the first half of the season before he suffered a couple of injuries he would have stuck this away. He had scampered through on goal but with the keeper just to beat, he lifted a weak shot wide.
As Liverpool pushed forward, Atalanta created a few more chances and midfielder Ederson squandered a decent opportunity but delivered a tame sidefoot into the arms of Alisson.
So, this proved to be Klopp’s last ever European game in charge of Liverpool and it was his most disappointing result by some distance.
The win over Spurs in the 2019 final in Madrid takes pride of place, obviously. Although when it comes to heartbreak for Klopp, the capital of Spain has always loomed large.
Klopp lost two finals against Real Madrid, in Kiev and Paris. His team also suffered two exits in the knockout stages to Real while there was also the 2020 last 16 loss to Atletico Madrid.
They were all in the Champions League while Klopp suffered defeat in the 2016 Europa League final to Unai Emery’s Sevilla.
Klopp has always claimed that the loss in Basel gave Liverpool the fire to push on and they certainly did that.
Now, Klopp will hope his team can rediscover their form and still, somehow, scrap for the league. And if they do somehow hold aloft the Premier League aloft on May 19, it will be Klopp’s greatest ever achievement.
By then, no-one will be remembering this loss in Lombardy.